At a Glance
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| Country | Sweden |
| Innovation Valley | Västra Götaland |
| Innovation Nexus | Nordic Innovation Nexus |
| Lead organisation | Västra Götaland Region |
| Regional VIVA partners | Innovatum Science Park; University of Borås; University West |
| Sister region | Plovdiv, Bulgaria |
| Sister-region focus | Circular-economy manufacturing |
| Flagship area | Circular textile transformation |
| Smart Specialisation | Circular material flows, sustainable textiles and advanced manufacturing |
| Key technologies and approaches | Flexible automation; plug-and-produce systems; artificial intelligence; material optimisation; robotics; digital traceability; textile sorting and recycling; industrial symbiosis; circular business models |
Regional Overview
Västra Götaland is one of Europe’s established innovation-leading regions and has strong industrial, research and public-sector capabilities. Its economy includes advanced manufacturing and a significant textile and fashion ecosystem centred around Borås.
Within VIVA, the region contributes experience in circular transformation, system innovation and collaboration across research, industry and public authorities. Its role is to demonstrate how established industrial value chains can be redesigned to reduce waste, retain material value and create new business opportunities.
Regional Strengths
The region combines a mature innovation ecosystem with expertise in textile research, industrial production, automation and circular business models. Science Park Borås and regional research and higher-education actors provide experience in testing new materials, production methods and value-chain approaches.
Västra Götaland is also involved in wider European circular-economy and regional-innovation initiatives, strengthening its ability to connect VIVA with established networks and transferable practices.
Innovation Specialisation
Circular textile flows and human-centric automation
Västra Götaland’s specialisation focuses on transforming textile value chains through circular material flows, system innovation and flexible automation.
The objective is to retain the value of textile materials for longer by improving reuse, recycling, sorting, remanufacturing and waste-to-value processes. Human-centric and flexible automation can help these activities become more scalable while responding to varying materials, products and production needs.
Flagship Pilot
Textile industry circularity transformation
The regional flagship will apply Science Park Borås’s expertise to demonstrate circular transformation across textile value chains and material flows. It will examine how circular business models, industrial symbiosis and waste-to-value innovations can be implemented in practice.
The activity is intended to generate learning that extends beyond textiles. By demonstrating how materials, business models and production systems can be redesigned together, the pilot can provide transferable insights for other manufacturing sectors and VIVA regions.
Collaboration within VIVA
As a member of the Nordic Innovation Nexus, Västra Götaland collaborates with Østfold and Österbotten. The regional combination connects circular textiles with robotics, automation, renewable energy and industrial symbiosis.
The region contributes circular design and system-transformation knowledge while gaining access to expertise in intelligent production and net-zero industrial systems. The Nexus is intended to support shared infrastructure, joint project development, knowledge integration and collaboration that respects each region’s autonomy.
Sister-Region Partnership
Västra Götaland and Plovdiv
Västra Götaland is paired with Plovdiv through a sister-region partnership centred on circular economy manufacturing. The partnership links Swedish expertise in circular manufacturing and textile-material flows with Plovdiv’s capabilities in agricultural biomass and sustainable bio-based value chains.
This creates opportunities to explore how bio-based feedstocks, textile production, automation and circular business models can be connected. Knowledge can flow in both directions: Västra Götaland contributes mature circular-production practices, while Plovdiv offers agricultural resources, bioeconomy expertise and new application contexts.
Opportunities
VIVA is expected to offer opportunities for:
- textile and manufacturing companies exploring circular production;
- innovators developing sorting, recycling, automation or material-traceability solutions;
- SMEs seeking testbeds and cross-regional partners;
- researchers working on textiles, automation, circularity and system innovation;
- public authorities and innovation agencies supporting industrial transition;
- investors interested in scalable circular technologies and business models.
Future opportunities may include open calls, demonstrations, capacity-building activities and cooperation with companies and testbeds in other VIVA regions.
Expected Contribution
Västra Götaland is expected to show how an established industrial ecosystem can shift from linear production towards more circular material use and business models.
Its contribution will support VIVA’s wider work on industrial symbiosis, circularity assessment and innovation readiness. Lessons from the textile flagship are expected to inform methods and guidance that can be adapted by other manufacturing regions across Europe.