Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

The first process to synthesize Leather ‒ A fabric with the identical chemical composition and exact mechanical properties as leather

Objective

Leather is a highly sought-after product for its very specific look, touch, feel and durability properties. It is considered a premium material in the fashion, upholstery and automobile industries. The leather production market, with an estimated value of €100 billion is projected to grow by 6.2% to 2023. Sadly, the leather industry is one of the most polluting, due to the hide and skin tanning processes (excess water use, chemical spills, millions of CO2 emissions, worker health problems, skin diseases, filthy working conditions especially for women). Sustainability in leather production is a must in this day and age when eco-labels are sought after by brands to stand out from the crowd, as consumers demand higher quality standards. Currently, the one and only way to produce real leather is by taking the skin from an animal. Yes, alternatives like PVC and plant-based products exist, but their composition and properties are nowhere near that of real leather. Hence, they can never be adequate substitutes. At Gelatex, we have developed a cutting-edge new method of synthesizing layers of collagen, made from gelatin, creating a fabric of unprecedented quality, chemically equivalent to leather. Gelatex is the first to deliver this new animal-like leather without the need for tanning. The material is designed and configured following the industry requirements on tensile strength, resistance (to tear, to flexing, to puncture), good heat insulation, water vapor permeability and comfort. Ours is a scalable and efficient process allowing for Gelatex to be sold below the cost of current leather. We will can sell our tailor-made leather in colors thicknesses and sizes desired by our customers (manufacturers of leather articles). We thus expect to achieve revenues of €10 million in just 3 years. As our production facilities expand alongside a possible licensing model, our tech has the potential to generate €2 billion in revenue in only 10 years.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

GELATEX TECHNOLOGIES OU
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 50 000,00
Address
TRUMMI 6-16
12616 TALLINN
Estonia

See on map

SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Eesti Eesti Põhja-Eesti
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 71 429,00
My booklet 0 0