Fairmat and Airbus Target Commercial-Scale Aircraft Composite Recycling

Published date:22/04/2026 | Last updated date:22/04/2026

French recycling innovator Fairmat has partnered with Airbus to recover carbon composite materials from end-of-life aircraft, marking a significant step toward commercial-scale aerospace recycling.

Announced at JEC World 2026 in Paris, the collaboration focuses on reclaiming structural components—including wing panels and keel beams—from long-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A350.

Turning aircraft waste into high-performance materials

Modern aircraft increasingly rely on carbon fiber composites for weight reduction and performance. In the case of the A350, composites account for approximately 53% of the structure by weight.

While this improves fuel efficiency, it also creates a major end-of-life challenge:
👉 how to recycle high-performance composites without degrading their value

Fairmat’s approach directly addresses that issue.

Cold plasma technology at the core

At the center of the partnership is Fairmat’s proprietary cold atmospheric plasma recycling process, designed to recover carbon fibers while preserving their mechanical properties.

Unlike traditional recycling methods that often:

• degrade fiber performance
• mix recycled and virgin materials
• limit reuse in high-value applications

Fairmat’s process enables:

• high-quality fiber recovery
• lower carbon footprint
• reuse in performance applications

CEO Benjamin Saada emphasized that combining this technology with Airbus’s industrial standards could transform how aircraft structures are handled at end-of-life.

From aircraft panels to reusable composite sheets

The recycled output is commercialized as FairPly, a material made from 100% recycled carbon composite chips.

Key characteristics include:

• available in sheet or roll form
• weight range: 200–400 g/m²
• compatible with thermoset and thermoplastic resins
• no need for cold storage (unlike traditional prepregs)

This positions FairPly as a more flexible and logistics-friendly alternative to conventional composite reinforcement materials.

From a manufacturing standpoint, ease of handling and storage is a major advantage, especially for companies looking to integrate recycled materials without overhauling existing processes.

Expanding beyond aerospace into construction

Fairmat is also extending its recycling strategy into the construction sector, partnering with Etex to integrate recycled composites into building materials.

Initial applications include:

• replacing metal fasteners (aluminum and steel)
• improving corrosion resistance
• enhancing thermal insulation

The partners are targeting at least a 50% reduction in carbon footprint compared to aluminum components.

This cross-industry expansion reflects a broader trend:
👉 recycled aerospace materials finding second life in less weight-critical but volume-driven industries.

Market context: growing demand meets recycling gap

The timing of this partnership aligns with rapid growth in the aerospace composites market:

• €36.2 billion (2025)
• projected to reach €97.7 billion by 2034

At the same time, the recycled composites market remains relatively small:

• €135 million today
• projected to reach €379 million by 2034

This gap highlights a clear opportunity:
👉 demand for composites is scaling faster than recycling infrastructure

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This article is developed based on real engineering experience, machine testing data, and practical production knowledge from Jota Machinery’s work in advanced composite manufacturing.

All technical explanations—including material structure, processing methods, and performance characteristics—are reviewed and verified by our engineering team to ensure accuracy and real-world relevance.

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Editor’s Note

This partnership is less about recycling technology alone—and more about industrial validation.

Many composite recycling solutions exist at lab or pilot scale. What has been missing is:

• consistent feedstock (real aircraft parts)
• industrial partners (OEM-level collaboration)
• market-ready outputs (usable materials, not waste streams)

The Fairmat–Airbus collaboration begins to connect all three.

If successful, it could shift composite recycling from:

• experimental niche → industrial supply chain

The real question is not whether composites can be recycled.
It is whether they can be recycled at scale, with consistent quality, and real economic value.

This project is one of the clearest attempts so far to answer that question.