At SBS, we are proud to collaborate in DeremCo – De & Remanufacturing for Circular Economy Investments in the Composite Industry, a European initiative driving innovative solutions to extend the life cycle of carbon fiber composites and move towards a more circular industry.

Carbon Fiber: A Material with Unique Properties

Carbon fiber is a synthetic fiber made primarily of carbon. It is a highly valued material thanks to its strength, flexibility, and lightness — qualities that explain its widespread use across industries. Sectors such as naval, biomedical, automotive, construction, sports, and electronics rely on this material, commonly found in products like bicycles, padel rackets, or protective helmets, among others. It is generally used as a component in composites.

How It Is Produced

Its production involves chemo-mechanical transformations of precursors, mainly polyacrylonitrile (PAN), although rayon or petroleum pitch are also used to a lesser extent.

Recycling and Second Life

The very resistance that makes carbon fiber so attractive is also its greatest challenge: it can take up to 100 years to degrade. Its accumulation in landfills generates a negative environmental impact, making it essential to seek more sustainable alternatives.

In this regard, just like glass fiber, carbon fiber can be recycled. Through thermal treatment, it is possible to recover fibers from composites, significantly reducing both the waste generated from virgin fiber production and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with it.

DeremCo: European Innovation for Composite Circularity

De & Remanufacturing for Circular Economy Investments in the Composite Industry

    • Project reference: 101084037
    • Start / End: December 2022 – November 2025
    • Total cost: €12,603,930.83
    • EU contribution: €8,822,751.58
    • Call: I3-2021-INV1
    • Topic: I3-2021-INV1-MANU
    • Website: https://deremco.afil.it/

30 European partners from Italy, Finland, Austria, Spain, Slovenia, Belgium, and Portugal are collaborating in the EU-funded DeremCo project, launched in December 2022. The partners share a common mission: to create a systemic, cross-sectoral, and demand-driven circular economy solution that enables the cost-effective reuse of post-use composite materials and components in new high-added-value products.

About

Fiber-reinforced plastics are the structural components of a wide range of consumer and industrial goods, but managing composite products after use in accordance with the principles of the circular economy remains a significant challenge.

The DeremCo project aims to create a systemic, cross-sectoral, demand-driven circular economy solution that will enable the cost-effective reuse of post-use composite materials and components in new high-added value products. This solution will be based on the interaction between the technical and social eco-systems at the local and interregional level and will benefit the environment, industry, consumers, and the European society.

To satisfy consumer demands, two circular pilot procedures will be used:

     a) mechanical demanufacturing and hybrid reprocessing,

     b) thermo-chemical demanufacturing and textile reprocessing.

The circular value-chain will be changed into a “pull” system, in line with the new DeremCo Demand-Driven vision, where the demands and specifications on the materials and components to be reused are transferred directly from the demand side in terms of the qualities and functions of the high added-value products reusing them. The major objectives will be to encourage industrial uptake within local eco-systems, to de-risk future industrial uptake through private investments, and to raise awareness for more conscientious consumer behavior to assure sustainability and continuity.

Role of the Cluster

IDEC will be involved in the development, testing and validation of inter-regional demonstration cases within the DeremCo project.

IDEC will be not only and end-user, but also a carbon fiber waste provider in order to try to transform the company`s value change into circular. The main industrial interest is to validate the re-use of long carbon fiber of aeronautical components with high structural requirements into low structural demanding ones, such as fairings like a Horizontal Tail Plane Tip.

SBS Participation

At SBS, we bring our expertise to this challenge alongside TECNALIA and IDEC. Our role focuses on optimizing carbon fiber recovery processes through our HECO Technology, enabling more efficient and sustainable waste treatment.

Using pyrolysis, we aim to produce high-quality recycled fibers ready to be reused in new composites. This approach not only supports sustainability but also strengthens the competitiveness of the European industry in a key sector for the green transition.

With this work, we strive not only to reduce waste generation and the emissions linked to virgin fiber production, but also to demonstrate the industrial feasibility of large-scale composite recycling. DeremCo thus stands as a clear example of how European cooperation can accelerate the shift toward a more sustainable, competitive, and circular industry.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s ERDF under grant agreement No 101084037. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.