The Smart Textiles Market Evaluation and Future Potential by Textile ETP 2019

According to various studies the market for smart textiles and wearables is expected to enter an exponential growth phase with estimates ranging from an expected total world market of nearly 1.5 bn US$ by 2021 (Kamitis – Smart Textiles Study 2016-2021) to almost 3 bn US$ for the European market alone in 2024 (Grand View Research – Smart Textiles Market, Smart Fabrics Industry Report,2024).

The majority of the applications being concentrated in 4 main fields: Protection & Defence, Sports & Fitness, Industrial and Technical Applications (transportation, architecture) and Medical & Healthcare. These markets show a particularly  great  potential  for SMEs to offer customised and niche market solutions with interesting cross-sectoral value chain impact  and transfer potential across a broader range of specific  applications,  providing  scale-up  opportunities.

The wearables market is estimated at ca €150 billion by 2026 (Smart Wearables: Reflection and Orientation paper, European Commission 2016). Assuming Smart Textiles will take 10%, the new value chains represent a market opportunity of €5.5 billion in 2026 (see section 2.1.1.2). In parallel, the high potential offer by Smart Textiles on the European market supporting SMEs has become a priority regarding the policy priorities of the European Union. However, in order to realize its full potential for the industry one key issue to solve is to fill the industrial manufacturing capacity gap that exists to meetend market demand for smart textile-based solutions.