James Cropper Advanced Materials and Carbon Fiber Recycling Shortlisted for CAMX 2026 Unsurpassed Innovation Award

James Cropper Advanced Materials is delighted to announce that UNIMAT™ has been shortlisted for the CAMX 2026 Unsurpassed Innovation Award, recognising breakthrough technologies that advance the composites and advanced materials industry.

Developed using VECTIS™, James Cropper’s proprietary fibre alignment technology, UNIMAT™ is a highly aligned discontinuous carbon fibre material engineered from recycled and production-induced waste (PIW) carbon fibre feedstocks. The shortlisted innovation was developed through a strategic collaboration between James Cropper Advanced Materials and Carbon Fiber Recycling (CFR), creating a scalable pathway for transforming carbon fibre waste into high-value composite reinforcement.

The nomination highlights a significant industry achievement: demonstrating that recycled carbon fibre can deliver the performance, consistency and manufacturability required for demanding composite applications, without sacrificing sustainability goals.

At the heart of the innovation is a circular value chain that begins with end-of-life and production waste composite materials. Working alongside industry partners committed to improving sustainability within aerospace, Carbon Fiber Recycling applies its proprietary recovery and refinement technologies to transform carbon fibre waste into a high-quality feedstock. James Cropper subsequently uses VECTIS™ technology to align the recovered fibres with up to 95% alignment, creating UNIMAT™ for use in high-performance composite applications.

Unlike traditional recycled carbon fibre solutions, which are often limited to lower-value applications, UNIMAT™ combines sustainability with structural performance, process efficiency, and manufacturing scalability. Compatible with multiple composite manufacturing routes, including resin transfer moulding (RTM), stamping, thermoplastic consolidation, and prepreg systems, the material enables greater design flexibility and improved manufacturing efficiency.

The CAMX judging panel recognised the innovation’s ability to address several critical challenges facing the composites industry, including carbon fibre waste, raw material cost pressures, and the growing demand for sustainable materials capable of supporting aerospace, automotive, advanced air mobility, and sporting goods applications.

Manufactured to AS 9100 quality standards and capable of industrial-scale production exceeding 2 million square metres annually, UNIMAT™ represents a significant step forward for circular composites.

The CAMX 2026 Unsurpassed Innovation Award celebrates products and technologies that demonstrate exceptional innovation, commercial viability, and industry impact. Shortlisting places UNIMAT™ among the industry’s most significant advancements in composites and advanced materials.