Airbus, Fairmat To Explore Carbon Fiber End-Of-Life Recovery

LYON—Airbus and composite material recycling startup Fairmat have signed a contract to explore how to recover carbon fibers from dismantled airframes and reuse them in aeronautical construction.

The agreement comes amid efforts to recycle more materials from end-of-life aircraft and supports the trend toward keeping those materials in the sector. That circularity requires retaining the material’s properties, and therefore their value.

The joint effort will focus on the A350 widebody, a program that has not yet reached the aircraft retirement stage. The companies’ engineers will work on new approaches for the disassembly of carbon composites panels, while preserving the material’s value. The A350’s airframe relies on 53% carbon composites, and Fairmat will center on wing structures and keel beam components.

Airbus and Paris-based Fairmat signed the contract late in 2025 and announced it earlier in March. “The joint work aims to assess the conditions required to recover high-quality composite material and evaluate its potential for reuse in demanding industrial applications, particularly in aerospace, where performance, reliability and traceability requirements are critical,” they said.

Fairmat’s Infinity Recycling technology uses a cold plasma process to preserve the integrity of carbon fibers. It does not rely on massive energy consumption or industrial chemical processes and instead uses mechanical precision and advanced software, founder and CEO Benjamin Saada said in 2025. Compared to new materials, it results in comparable mechanical performance, competitive costs and a reduced carbon footprint, compared to new materials, the company said.

Aerospace accounts for 50% by weight of the composites Fairmat processes. The output’s applications have yet to include aerospace, however, and so far, have focused instead on industries such as sports equipment and car interiors.