Techtextil and Texprocess announced their 2026 Innovation Awards with 17 winners across ten categories covering products, materials, processes, and technologies applicable to automotive, aerospace, medical, architecture, and robotics. Technical textiles are no longer just coverings; they are becoming functional, structural, recyclable and automatable components.
At Techtextil, EMS-Griltech presents an award-winning automotive interior textile solution based on Grilon hot-melt adhesive yarns, previously recognized at the 2025 SPE Automotive Awards. Applications include instrument panels, door trim elements, and armrests. The textiles can take on structural and load-bearing functions, replace traditional materials, reduce process steps, and create new customization opportunities.
EMS says their polyamide- and copolyester-based yarns are fully recyclable, Oeko-Tex and ISCC+ certified, and produced CO2-neutrally. At the same time, they address hard industrial criteria: reproducible bonding, process stability, automated manufacturing integration, lightweighting, material reduction, and recyclability.
Stellantis SUSTAINera brings another angle. At Milan Design Week, “The Art of Reuse” featured used automotive parts transformed into an installation, while students work with fabric and leather samples recovered from Stellantis seat production and testing. Not yet a series-production cabin solution, but it is a useful CMF signal: production leftovers can become design.
