Switzerland Innovation Park Ost has launched the DefTex Cluster together with Swiss Textiles, Empa, the Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse and OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. The new platform combines Switzerland’s established textile capabilities with expertise in sensor technology, medtech and dual-use applications—technologies that can serve both civilian and security-related needs. Its central goal is to help Swiss companies, particularly SMEs, move promising developments beyond the prototype stage and towards market-ready products.
The cluster addresses a recurring challenge in applied research: strong technical results do not automatically become viable products. Potential projects will therefore be assessed early for commercial feasibility and developed through partner consortia with professional support. Shared infrastructure, coordinated knowledge transfer and targeted guidance along the innovation chain will give companies access to capabilities that can be difficult to build independently. By connecting textile materials and manufacturing expertise with adjacent technologies, the partners aim to create practical solutions for fields ranging from healthcare and sensing to safety and defence.
Switzerland Innovation Park Ost will act as the platform orchestrator, bringing industry partners, research institutions and technology specialists together and supporting projects as they move towards application. The cluster is being built at the Park and receives financial backing from its founding partners. This close link between research, industry and commercialization creates stronger conditions for collaborative product development and gives SMEs a clearer route from laboratory results to scalable business cases. The DefTex Cluster adds a focused new element to Eastern Switzerland’s innovation ecosystem while strengthening the competitiveness of Switzerland’s textile and technology industries.
Caption: From left: René Rossi, Empa; Nina Bachmann, Swiss Textiles; Andreas Stier, armasuisse; Prof. Dr. Tindaro Pittorino, OST; and Ruedi Wagner, Switzerland Innovation Park Ost, at the DefTex Cluster launch in Dübendorf. © Aladin Klieber
