Project Overview
INNOVATILE addresses one of the major sustainability challenges in the ceramic tile manufacturing industry. The project will develop and scale an innovative semi-wet granulation process for porcelain tile production, aiming to:
- Reduce energy demand and greenhouse-gas emissions by approximately 30-35 %.
- Reduce raw-material and water consumption by around 10-20 %.
- Replace the critical raw-material feldspar with secondary raw materials (SRMs).
The project’s total budget is approximately €2,800,575.65, of which the European Union is funding ~€2,492,512.33 (≈ 89 %) under the Interreg NEXT MED programme.
Kick-off Meeting Highlights
During the meeting the Steering Committee—composed of representatives from each partner institution—will convene to:
- Confirm the project governance and coordination structure (Work Package 1: Project Management & Coordination).
- Review the first-year work plan and key deliverables.
- Establish communication, reporting and monitoring procedures across the partnership.
- Begin the preparation of pilot-scale implementation of the semi-wet granulation technology.
Partners & Scope
The consortium brings together leading research organisations and industrial actors from major ceramic-tile producing countries across the Mediterranean: Spain, Türkiye, Italy, Cyprus, Tunisia and Egypt—thereby combining advanced R&D capabilities with industrial deployment.
Furthermore, NMP Global Innovation is engaged in the promotion of the INNOVATILE project, supporting communication, awareness-building and stakeholder outreach across the region.
Expected Impact
By introducing this semi-wet granulation process, INNOVATILE expects to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the ceramic tile industry—enhancing resource-efficiency, promoting circular-economy practices and supporting regional innovation. The outcomes are designed to benefit not just the tile sector, but also other industries able to integrate secondary raw materials.
About Interreg NEXT MED
The Interreg NEXT MED programme supports trans-national cooperation across the Mediterranean region. It brings together 15 countries (seven EU Member States and eight partner countries) to tackle shared challenges such as climate change, environmental transition and sustainable economic development.
About INNOVATILE
INNOVATILE is an EU-funded project under the Interreg NEXT MED initiative, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Its aim is to demonstrate and scale up a semi-wet granulation technology for porcelain-tile manufacturing, delivering major resource and energy savings, supporting raw-material substitution, and fostering a network of industry and research actors for decarbonisation of the tile value-chain.
