Our DEECOM® innovative reclamation technology which uses ‘pressolysis’ to reclaim fibres and resins from end-of-life composite components and offers the potential for both elements to be reused in the manufacture of new parts, has been shortlisted in the ‘Innovation in Materials’ category of the Composites UK 2022 Industry Awards.
DEECOM® is being developed and commercialised by composites technology specialist and machine builder Cygnet Texkimp alongside industry partner and technology inventor, Longworth. The award entry focused on the partners’ successful project with the UK’s National Composites Centre to achieve a world-first in reclaiming continuous fibre lengths from wound products – in this case from composite hydrogen tanks.
The Composites UK Awards celebrate the achievements of the UK composites industry. The winners will be announced at the Composites UK Industry Awards Dinner at the Advanced Engineering Show on 2nd November 2022 at the Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham.
“It means a great deal to us to have our work recognised by our peers in the composites community,” says Cygnet Texkimp CEO Luke Vardy.
“We couldn’t have done this without our partner and fellow UK SME, Longworth, which invented the original technology and is working closely with us to develop it for the composites industry.
“DEECOM® is an extremely exciting and novel pressolysis technology which we believe has an important role to play in helping to overcome the challenges of waste and supply and creating a sustainable future for composites.”
Whilst DEECOM® is innovative in technological terms, the biggest step change comes from the innovation in industry behaviour and business model surrounding composite waste; challenging the transportation of waste, often overseas or inter-state. DEECOM® brings the solution to the site of the problem; material is converted onsite into usable, low cost, high grade advanced materials for multiple reuse or resale opportunities. If this material is never classified as ‘waste’ and never leaves the location, then the facility achieves ‘zero avoidable waste from composites’ and accesses their own stream of >free-of-charge feedstock.
Put simply in the words of Longworth director Jen Hill, “With this step-change in behaviour, we could stop using the word ‘waste’ in composites altogether.”