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Cleantech company (Luxembourg and Bristol, U.K.) has been awarded an Innovate UK Smart Grant: July 2024 round, to scale its low-energy chemical recycling technology, ChemR. Selected as one of only 44 successful projects from a pool of 2,134 applications, ChemR is an ambient-condition chemical recycling process for advanced composite materials. Uplift360 says it has the potential to transform carbon fiber waste management across aerospace, automotive, defense and clean energy sectors.

“This grant is a major step forward. ChemR shows that high-performance recycling can be both clean and scalable,” says Harry Miller, product and engineering director at Uplift360.

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As much as 50% of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) is wasted during manufacturing; the U.K. alone currently produces between 30,000-50,000 tonnes of CFRP waste annually — material with a potential value exceeding £1.2 billion if effectively recycled. With only 20% of CFRP waste currently recycled, and less than 2% reused due to limitations in thermal and mechanical recycling methods, there still remains an urgent need for scalable, sustainable recycling alternatives.

Uplift360 says ChemR addresses this critical gap by enabling low-energy, high-quality recycling aligned with:

• The U.K. MOD’s Defence Circularity Concept Note, by reinforcing the need for resilient supply chains and strengthening U.K. sovereign defense capability
• The U.K. Critical Minerals and Advanced Materials Strategies, by enhancing domestic recycling capacity
• Waste and circular economy policies, by offering a scalable route to reuse high-value fibers and reduce industrial reliance on imports.

ChemR is a proprietary chemical recycling process that reuses its solvent between batches and is capable of operating at room temperature and pressure. It delivers high-purity recovered fibers ready for reinjection into composites manufacturing. Its direct solvent reuse and mild operating conditions offer a clean, cost-effective alternative for manufacturers facing carbon reduction targets and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations. 

Uplift360’s next steps include the delivery of a pilot-scale ChemR system, conducting real-world demonstrations with partners and building evidence to support commercial roll-out across high-value industries. The project will aim to scale the ChemR process to an integrated pilot line, demonstrate that chemical recycling can be cost-effective, preserve fiber quality with no degradation and adapt flexibly across different applications.