EUR 2.5 Million Sustainability Support from the European Union for the Ceramics Sector

The INNOVATILE Project, funded with EUR 2.5 million by the European Union, was launched to reduce environmental impacts in the ceramic sector and increase resource efficiency. Within the scope of the project, which counts Turkey among its important partners, new production technology is expected to achieve savings of up to 35% in energy consumption and up to 20% in water and raw material consumption.

A New Era in Porcelain Tiles: Less Energy, More Efficiency
The INNOVATILE Project, supported by the European Union under the Interreg NEXT MED Programme, began on 26 August 2025. The project's total budget is EUR 2.8 million, with the EU contribution of EUR 2.49 million comprising 89% of total costs.

The project aims to prevent high energy and resource consumption in ceramic tile production by scaling up an innovative semi-wet granulation process. The technology to be developed will achieve:

30–35% reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions,

10–20% reduction in raw material and water use,

Integration of waste and by-products into the production process,

Use of alternative materials to replace feldspar, classified as a critical raw material in the EU.

The project's opening meeting will take place on 4 November 2025.

Kale Group Represents Turkey
Turkey participates in the project through Kaleseramik, Çanakkale Kalebodur Ceramic Industry Inc. and Çanakkale Technology Development Zone Inc. The consortium also includes:

Spain: Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Cerámica (Project Coordinator)

Italy: Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

Cyprus: ATLANTIS Environment and Innovation Ltd

Tunisia: National Engineering School of Gafsa

Egypt: Egyptian Center for Innovation & Technology Development

This collaboration covers four of the world's top 10 tile-producing countries, ensuring the project has a global impact.

Low-Carbon Production Network to Be Established for the Ceramic Sector
The HypocarbonTileTech Network to be established under the project will bring together all stakeholders in the ceramic tile value chain. The network will promote knowledge sharing in low-carbon production, renewable energy use and waste management.

Encompassing a broad audience from students to researchers, from industry professionals to decision-makers, this network will raise awareness and also prepare policy recommendation documents to be shared with public authorities.

About the Project
The INNOVATILE Project focuses on the development of semi-wet powder preparation technology for use in porcelain tile production and the analysis of its environmental impacts. After the validation phase of the new process, international dissemination of the technology will be ensured through pilot production applications.

The secondary raw material inventory to be created in this scope will provide information on available resources at the local level, offering benefits to other industries as well.