Airbus creates composite recycling advisory board

Toulouse, France – Airbus has set up the Airbus Composite Recycling Advisory Board to establish the company’s vision, strategy, objectives, and roadmap for recycling and reusing composite materials. As part of this trans-national and trans-functional program, various research and technology projects for recycling carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites are either underway or planned at Airbus sites – in partnership with external organizations. 

 

These projects seek to examine and validate the techniques and industrialization for recycling and reusing waste products from the CFRP manufacturing process – including both hard, cured wastes and softer, uncured materials. 

 

By the 2020 to 2025 timeframe, the project targets for 95% of CFRP manufacturing process wastes to go through a recycling channel, with 5% of the waste products to be recycled back into the aerospace sector. 

 

The development of the Airbus Composite Recycling Advisory Board is part of the company’s commitment to a sustainable future in aviation – reducing the environmental impact throughout the entire jetliner lifecycle: from design and manufacture to in-flight operations and end-of-life management.