Kuusakoski invests in ‘safe and effective’ carbon fibre recycling

Kuusakoski is investing more than EUR 4 million in the construction of a new composite shredding and treatment plant in Southern Finland.

The recycling hub will be located at Kuusakoski’s existing site in Hyvinkää, where composites will be processed ‘safely and effectively’. The investment includes the renovation of the current building, plus a new processing line. Part of the funds (35%) will be covered by the Finish government.

The new site will be fully operational by the end of 2025. It will feature two shredders, several covered conveyors, a magnet, and a dust control system. The dust control system is said to be especially important, as the processing of composites creates large amounts of fine, harmful dust.

‘Our investment brings the circular economy solution piloted in Germany to Finland,’ says company ceo Mikko Kuusilehto. ‘With it, we can provide the best industrial scale recycling process for composite materials locally.’

He cites growing demand for a sustainable recycling solution for composites, as the amount of composite waste will increase. Most of the material will come from decommissioned wind turbines, airplanes, boats and other vehicles.

The composite waste is supplied as a raw material by Kuusakoski to the cement industry. The shredded composite material is co-processed in cement production, where it can be efficiently utilised without residual ash.

Composite material contains both fibres and polymers. In this co-processing, the fibres are substituting limestone and the polymers are substituting fossil fuel. The utilisation of composite lowers the CO2-emissions significantly.