Wargön Innovation scales up operations for future circular business models

Wargön Innovation, together with Science Park Borås, has been granted SEK 30 million from the European Regional Development Fund for a three-year initiative to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the transition to circular business models and increased resource efficiency. The aim is to contribute to increased competitiveness for SMEs and green transition in West Sweden, but also to develop a world-leading test and development environment for industrial sorting and valuation of textile materials.

Society is facing major changes and much still needs to be done to meet the environmental and climate goals that exist in Sweden as well as in Europe. Over the next three years, Wargön Innovation and Science Park Borås will deepen their efforts to support SMEs in scaling up or developing their circular business models and provide support to take material innovations from idea to industrial scale. By promoting companies' ideas for new innovative materials and products, their competitiveness is strengthened in a new market with demands for sustainability and circularity.

- At Wargön Innovation, we are proud of the test and development environment that has emerged in our facility in Wargön's industrial and innovation park and we see that the development of an international textile cluster in western Sweden is possible. Wargön Innovation has developed into a unique and cutting-edge player. We are grateful for the support to continue developing our environment and look forward to enabling the innovations and solutions that drive sustainable development," says Markus Danell, Director of Wargön Innovation.

- Our capacity enables us to inspire and guide companies on their development journey. Supporting companies in developing innovations and testing products helps to create competitiveness in the transition from linear to circular economy. This is our most important task," says Caroline Düberg Martinsson, Innovation Manager at Wargön Innovation.

Need for automated solutions

With the EU textile strategy requiring the collection and sorting of textiles from 2025, the amount of textiles that need to be handled in Sweden will increase. Today, the sorting and valuation work is mainly done manually and on a small scale. When volumes are expected to increase sharply, new automated solutions are required. Wargön Innovation is now taking a leading role in developing tomorrow's efficient valuation and sorting systems.

- Over the next three years, we look forward to continuing the work of strengthening and making available our test and development environment for automated industrial sorting, valuation and development of textile materials and services," says Markus Danell.

Unique opportunities for testing new innovations

The collaboration with Science Park Borås enables broader support to companies through access to networks, expertise and resources. The test and demo environments available at Wargön Innovation and Science Park Borås provide unique opportunities for companies to test and develop their innovations.

- Through the collaboration between Science Park Borås' prominent innovation environment DO-tank Center and Wargön Innovation, we are putting even greater focus on driving the transition towards increased circularity at all levels of the textile and fashion industry. The collaboration is a clear example of how different actors can work together to create real change. Together, we will be more comprehensive in supporting innovation with sustainability-driven growth for a circular textile and fashion industry. It will accelerate the transition and make a difference for companies, the environment, and society," says Erik Valvring, Innovation Strategist at Science Park Borås.

The project is a collaboration between Wargön Innovation and Science Park Borås and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Region Västra Götaland, Vänersborg Municipality and Fyrbodals kommunalförbund.