GEN 2 CARBON LIMITED

Their core work

Gen 2 Carbon is a UK-based SME specializing in carbon fibre and composite materials recycling and reprocessing. They develop processes for recovering value from end-of-life composite structures used in aerospace, automotive, and wind energy sectors. Their work spans the full recycling chain — from dismantling and debonding composite parts to solvent-based recycling and pyrolysis for fibre recovery. They bring industrial recycling capability to EU research consortia focused on circular economy solutions for advanced materials.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Gen 2 Carbon's early H2020 work (2018) centred on understanding composite material properties in lightweight construction for aerospace, automotive, and wind energy applications. By 2021, their focus shifted decisively toward industrial-scale recycling processes — pyrolysis, solvent-based recycling, dismantling robotics, and circular business models. This progression shows a company moving from materials characterisation toward becoming a process-level recycling operator with sustainability credentials.

Gen 2 Carbon is moving toward automated, scalable composite recycling with circular economy integration — expect them to pursue pilot plant and industrial demonstration projects next.

How they like to work

Gen 2 Carbon participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for a specialist SME contributing domain-specific recycling expertise to larger consortia. With 35 unique partners across 14 countries in just 3 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia (averaging 12+ partners per project). This suggests they are comfortable operating in complex multi-partner environments and are valued for a specific technical contribution rather than project management.

Despite only three projects, Gen 2 Carbon has built a broad network of 35 partners across 14 countries, indicating exposure to a wide range of European research and industry players in the composites and recycling space.

What sets them apart

Gen 2 Carbon occupies a niche position as an SME with hands-on composite recycling capability — not just research, but actual fibre recovery and reprocessing. This makes them a practical partner for any consortium that needs to demonstrate real recycling at pilot or industrial scale, rather than only modelling or lab work. Their cross-sector experience (aerospace, automotive, wind energy, packaging) means they can adapt recycling processes to different composite types and waste streams.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HELACS
  Their largest funded project (EUR 284K), focused on aircraft composite end-of-life — a high-value, regulation-driven market with growing demand for sustainable decommissioning.
• MultiCycle
  Broadened their scope beyond carbon fibre into multi-material plastics recycling including textiles and packaging, signalling diversification into wider circular economy applications.