Objective
The textile industry is an essential sector of global importance. However, it is environmentally damaging, especially synthetic fibers. Even natural fibers such as cotton, used in half of all textiles, also require intensive land, water, and pesticide use. In response to these challenges, there is an urgent need for sustainable alternatives, particularly those that repurpose natural fiber waste. One such overlooked resource is coarse wool, a keratin-rich by-product of the meat and dairy industries, often discarded for its rigidity and low spinnability despite valuable traits such as disulphide crosslinking, flame retardancy, and barrier performance. A promising path forward is the regeneration of coarse wool into soft, functional keratin fiber mats. Although keratin, like synthetic polyamides, contains amide groups, it is biodegradable, and its hydrogen-bonded structure can be disrupted by solvents such as NMMO. Yet, a relevant process has never been applied to wool keratin. ReWOOLVE addresses this gap by proposing a peptide-informed design strategy that compares regenerated keratin fibers against well-defined synthetic coiled-coil peptide assemblies, aiming to achieve structural attributes surpassing those of traditional textiles. These peptide motifs serve as a molecular framework for tuning softness, strength, and structural integrity in keratin-based fibers. ReWOOLVE will bridge natural and synthetic strategies to regenerate coarse wool into soft, high-performance keratin non-woven mats by green electrospinning. The project aims to develop uniform, high-performance keratin-based non-woven fiber mats from coarse wool by (i) optimising the dissolution and electrospinning of keratin in green solvents, with NMMO as a reference system based on its industrial use, and (ii) benchmarking regenerated fibers against synthetic coiled-coil peptide assemblies to guide structure–function relationships.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering fibers
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science dairy
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- engineering and technology materials engineering textiles
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
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.
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
20018 San Sebastian
Spain
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.