Gemtex – Textile Research Laboratory

Gemtex : from birth to the present day

The GEMTEX research unit was established in November 1992 with the aim of conducting research leading to tangible and intangible innovations in the textile industry, drawing on the latest scientific and technological knowledge.
Over the last 30 years, GEMTEX has gradually expanded, growing from a small group of five lecturers and researchers into a medium-sized research unit (32 lecturers and researchers and 37 PhD students, as of January 2026).

Since 1994, the unit has also welcomed lecturers and PhD students from JUNIA, the engineering school of the Catholic University of Lille. Since 2023, within the framework of the EPE, its primary supervisory body has been the University of Lille, and its associated supervisory body is ENSAIT. The École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles (ENSAIT) is the largest centre in Europe for initial training at Master’s level (engineering degree) in the specialism of fibrous materials.

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY LABORATORY

The GEMTEX Laboratory contributes to the development of interdisciplinary research projects aimed not only at driving innovation in the textile, clothing and retail sectors through new sustainable and connected materials and digital tools, but also at designing innovative, high-value-added textile materials and products that help restore industrial sovereignty and contribute to the reindustrialisation of France across a wide range of application areas (clothing, transport, cosmetics, health, safety, sport, aeronautics, robotics, etc.).

All activities are organised around three research areas, encompassing all the unit’s research projects and technology platforms, namely: (i) modelling, simulation and optimisation of systems and value chains in the textile sector, (ii) the physics of textile materials, structures and systems, and (iii) formulations, structures and processes for the functionalisation of textiles..

SOME KEY FIGURES

Two graduate schools

The Textile Engineering and Materials Unit (GEMTEX) is a ULR research group (No. 2461) based at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles (ENSAIT) in Roubaix. The Gemtex is primarily overseen by the University of Lille and ENSAIT.