News Article
Fabulose Project Meeting - Weißbach, Germany
Two days of Fabulose in Weißbach: science, surfaces and Continental in the spotlight
In early February, the Fabulose consortium met in Weißbach, Germany, for a two-day General Assembly hosted by project partner Konrad Hornschuch GmbH, a subsidiary of Continental AG. The consortium consisting of researchers, industry partners, and sustainability experts met to review the first months of the project, align on upcoming steps, and further advance the development of leather-like fabrics.
Where Fabulose stands
Project Coordinator Iris Houthoff opened the meeting by reflecting on the first eight months of the project. Despite facing some initial challenges, the project is now progressing smoothly. Working structures are in place, all milestones and deliverables have been met, and all work packages have successfully transitioned from the planning stage to implementation.
During the meeting, the consortium was introduced to ECOSYSTEX, the European Community of Practice for a Sustainable Textile Ecosystem, as Fabulose has recently become a member project. This network brings together EU-funded, textile-related initiatives, providing Fabulose with opportunities to share results, align on sustainability approaches, and engage collaboratively with policymakers and other stakeholders.
Hands-On Look at Surface Materials at Continental’s Visitor Center
A key feature of this meeting was its location in Weißbach at the Konrad Hornschuch GmbH site. This site, part of Continental’s Surface Solutions department, develops and produces films, high-tech synthetic materials, and artificial leather for customers in more than 100 countries.
During a guided tour of the Customer Event Centre, the project consortium saw a wide range of surfaces, foils, and artificial leathers intended for interior and exterior use. Large sliding walls and custom furniture showcased an array of textures and designs. This was a valuable opportunity for the Fabulose partners to explore how bio-based, circular coatings could be incorporated into existing product lines, and to gain insight into the real-world performance criteria that must be met, including durability, haptics and odour.
Later, a visit to the coating applications laboratory gave the partners a clearer insight into the activities of the Fabulose project. Continental experts guided them through the coating and lacquering processes, discussing practical issues such as dispersion quality, film formation and integrating new formulations into roll-to-roll equipment, all of which are important for the project work in Work Packages (WP) 1 and 2.
Technical highlights: coatings, recycling and sustainability
In addition to the lab visits, the meeting primarily focused on the work package sessions, where progress, challenges, and next steps were discussed in detail. In WP1, initial progress is being made in scaling up the production of bacterial cellulose and cyanophycin, overcoming first drying and biomass limitations at the start. WP2 is currently working on the selection of suitable raw materials for the production of the Fabulose leather-like fabric, and the first coating trials have already begun. In WP3, a selection criteria matrix has been developed based on market requirements from sectors such as leather goods, footwear, and automotive. This matrix will help ensure that new materials meet real customer expectations in terms of aesthetics and performance, while also aligning with sustainability goals. In WP4, partners have started to define analytical methods and separation approaches for the coated textiles to be developed, with a strong focus on recycling and end-of-life strategies. WP5 has progressed with mapping the relevant processes and data flows for the development of the project’s digital twin. To ensure that the Fabulose leather-like materials follow a Safe and Sustainable by Design approach, WP6 is currently developing appropriate assessment methods and guiding principles. These include EcoDesign guidelines, life cycle assessment (LCA), toxicity and hazard assessment, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA). WP6 will work closely with the technical partners to systematically collect and organize the necessary information.
Why this meeting mattered
The General Assembly in Weißbach showed core elements of Fabulose: collaboration, research, lab-scale innovation and real-life applications. Holding the meeting at the Konrad Hornschuch GmbH site demonstrated the importance of strong industrial partners in scaling up the production of bio-based materials to create viable products. A combination of project updates, technical deep dives, sustainability discussions and hands-on exposure to films, synthetics and artificial leather provided a clearer picture of Fabulose’s future direction. Seeing each other in person again has boosted our team spirit and strengthened our joint innovation activities.
