University of Delaware Receives $1.34M for Carbon-Fibre Prepreg Recycling Research

Industry report date: 29 October 2026

The University of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materials has been awarded US$1.34 million under the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program for research into recycling high-performance thermoset carbon-fibre prepregs. The work focuses on recovering useful reinforcement from material streams that are difficult to recycle through conventional routes.

The project includes researchers working with US naval aviation organisations and targets potential reuse in defence maintenance and repair applications. The research objective includes achieving at least 80% of the strength of virgin fibres, according to JEC’s report. This is a development target, not a confirmed performance result from the new grant.

Thermoset matrices complicate fibre recovery because cured resin cannot simply be remelted. The new effort builds on an established area of research at the Delaware centre, which has previously described thermal processing and fibre realignment approaches for reclaiming carbon reinforcement.

For the composites value chain, this work is relevant to the long-term economics of prepreg scrap, fibre recovery and secondary material qualification. Industrial-scale performance and commercial viability will still require validation.

Sources: JEC industry report, 29 October 2026; University of Delaware background research.