CTC announces the launch of the SICLE.e industrial chair

The chair project proposed by CTC and Montpellier University, with the CIRAD as a partner, aims to introduce tanning methods and waste recycling methods that are more respectful of the environment, while maintaining high quality standards for the leather industry.  

The project was approved by the French National Research Agency (ANR) in June 2024. 

The chair, named SICLE.e for "Silicium dans l'innovation du cuir : laboratoires et entreprises au service de l'environnement", will start in january 2024 and run for 4 years. 

The SICLE.e chair, a collaboration between scientific and industrial players 

The SICLE.e industrial chair is part of a collaborative research approach between public and private players. Funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), it aims to support the leather industry's transition to more sustainable practices.   

The partnership is based on an open innovation model, where researchers and industrial players work collaboratively to meet major environmental challenges while ensuring long-term economic competitiveness for the French leather industry.  

The SICLE.e chair, towards a more eco-responsible industry thanks to silicon tanning  

The aim of this chair is to support the necessary transformation of the leather industry. 

SICLE.e focuses on two major areas of research, and is based on an innovative silicon-based tanning process (non-toxic) patented jointly by CTC and the University of Montpellier. 

The first area is the development of processes and molecules for environmentally-friendly tanning, enabling the production of high-quality leathers with new and innovative functionalities.  

The second area explores the recycling of tanning waste products, such as scrapings and effluents, in order to create new materials. In particular, the aim is to reuse tanning waste in other industrial sectors, such as agriculture, the food industry and energy.   

These innovations aim to rethink the entire leather production chain, by aligning industrial performance and environmental responsibility.  

The SICLE.e chair, a strategic partnership for CTC 

This unprecedented partnership offers CTC a unique opportunity to establish and integrate scientific research into its expertise.  

The chair will explore a wide range of applied and fundamental themes.  

Thanks to this public-private partnership, CTC will be able to develop breakthrough technological solutions that will benefit the entire French leather industry. This collaborative project aims, first and foremost, to meet one of the current challenges facing the leather industry (a metal-free, environmentally-friendly tanning agent), but also to position itself as a project for the future, with research themes on the functionalization and leathers of the future, the recycling of waste and sub-products, and more generally a global, circular vision of leather manufacturing.  

SICLE's overall budget for the four years of collaboration is €4.31 million. The substantial investment is shared between the university laboratories, CTC and ANR.