Premium carbon fibre from Singapore’s old aircraft

Singapore company Nandina Rem has launched a ‘high-quality’ carbon fibre material derived from end-of-life aircraft that meets aviation specifications.

The reprocessed material is said to bridge the gap between unused materials from retired aircrafts and high demand from manufacturing industries. The new approach yields output with the same mechanical properties as virgin carbon fibre, but at less cost.

Nandina Rem ceo Karina Cady says her company aims to cut one gigatonne of greenhouse gas emissions from global supply chains by 2030. ‘Reclaiming circular materials from end-of-life aircrafts is a key industry achievement which will unlock a multitude of possibilities for both aviation and advanced manufacturing.’

Nandina Rem is leveraging the intelligent automation and multi-material segregation processes developed by its partner A*Star. It says its innovative approach is ‘fully traceable from start to finish’. This ensures verifiability in terms of both emissions measurement and reduction, as well as sourcing assurance.

Cady points out around 8 000 retired aircraft around the world are currently collecting dust in storage. Another 15 000 will be decommissioned in the next 10 years.

The scale of aviation scrap is especially significant in Asia, the region with the largest share of aircraft. Industries here will generate an estimated 102 500 tonnes of end-of-life carbon fibre from aviation by 2050.