Textile ETP's SmartX Innovation Hub, together with EURATEX, is organising an event on the future of European technical textiles in defence protection and aerospace on 19 November 2026, from 11:30 to 17:00 CET, in Brussels, Belgium, at the office of the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the European Union in Brussels.
Technical textiles have been a European industrial success story for the past two decades. Today, however, the sector faces growing pressure from global competition, high energy and financing costs, weakened demand in traditional markets and increasing strain on European production and supply chains.
This is the moment to take a clear-eyed look at the industry's strengths, vulnerabilities and future opportunities. As established markets such as automotive and construction stagnate, advanced applications in protection, defence and aerospace offer new prospects for innovation and growth.
The Brussels event will present the Innovation & Industrial Strategy developed by Textile ETP and EURATEX during 2026, bringing together EU policymakers, European industry leaders and end-market experts.
Discussions will focus on competitiveness and strategic autonomy, innovation priorities, market opportunities, supply-chain resilience and dependencies, procurement, technology adoption and cross-sector collaboration, building the foundations for a stronger European advanced technical textiles ecosystem.
Ticket Fees
Participation is free of charge for members of the SmartX Innovation Hub, EURATEX national or corresponding members, Textils.CAT members, TEXFOR members and ACCIÓ Generalitat de Catalunya members.
Textile ETP members and the general public can attend for a fee. Please refer to the image on the right for the ticket prices.
About the SmartX Innovation Hub
Together with Titera (SI), Tèxtils.CAT (ES), CeNTi (PT), IVGT (DE), University of Borås's Swedish School of Textiles (SE), Science Park Borås (SE), and Confindustria Moda (IT), Textile ETP launched the SmartX Innovation Hub to help e-textile and high-performance textile companies, research organisations and brands to learn, network and collaborate.
The Hub follows the conclusion of the SmartX Europe project, a Horizon 2020 initiative boosting e-textiles and wearables into the market. One of the most notable achievements of the project was the realisation that sharing and cross-sector collaboration can play a significant role in innovation. With online and in-person events, the Innovation Hub offers a diverse range of activities addressing a wide spectrum of high-performance textiles and wearables. This ensures that professionals from diverse backgrounds can discover relevant and valuable content tailored to their specific interests and build new projects or working groups towards upcoming legislations.
A full-year learning and networking programme for the price of a 2-day conference ticket.
The Innovation Hub is designed for professionals within and beyond the textile sector who are eager to explore and pioneer advancements in wearables and high-performance fibres.
Small, medium and large companies across the entire supply chain
Research/testing institutes and university departments
Professional associations and clusters
Consultancies and independent experts
End markets open to exploring or researching the potential of new product