Syensqo Partners with Fairmat to Recycle Carbon Fiber Waste Tackling 62000 Tons of Annual Waste

On June 16, Syensqo, a global leader in advanced performance materials, announced a partnership with Fairmat, a French deep-tech company specializing in converting carbon fiber into scalable, high-performance recycled materials. This collaboration will see Fairmat recycling carbon fiber prepreg waste from Syensqo’s UK operations, transforming it into valuable resources for new products in industries such as sports, energy, mobility, and electronics.

Earlier this year in March, Syensqo partnered with Vartega, a pioneer in carbon fiber recycling technology, to develop commercial and technical solutions for post-industrial recycled carbon fiber. Using Vartega’s proprietary process, dry carbon fiber and prepreg waste from Syensqo’s North American facilities are recycled into Vartega’s EasyFeed Bundles™, which are then integrated into Syensqo’s ECHO product line of carbon fiber-reinforced specialty polymers. ECHO materials are widely applied in automotive structural parts, dampening rings, and drivetrains, delivering outstanding performance.

Additionally, Syensqo has developed RMC (Recyclable Molding Compound) technology, which converts prepreg waste into non-structural materials. This innovation was successfully applied in the BEMA project, resulting in the first fully composite battery enclosure made with SolvaLite®716FR and RMC technology.

Syensqo is committed to sustainability at the core of its operations, offering lightweight materials to promote green mobility, developing bio-based and mass-balanced resin alternatives, and advocating for circularity. These efforts aim to reduce environmental impact across industries.

The importance of carbon fiber recycling lies in addressing its significant waste accumulation. According to ELG Carbon Fibre, nearly one-third of carbon fiber sheets are trimmed and discarded during manufacturing. This results in 62,000 tons of unused carbon fiber waste annually, primarily from the aerospace and wind energy sectors. By 2035, it’s estimated that the aircraft industry will generate 23,600 tons of waste, while the wind turbine sector could add another 483,000 tons, underscoring the urgent need for recycling solutions.