James Cropper Advanced Materials and Carbon Fiber Recycling (CFR) have won the CAMX 2026 Unsurpassed Innovation Award for UNIMAT™, a highly aligned recycled carbon fiber reinforcement developed for demanding composite applications. The technology combines CFR's recycled carbon fiber feedstock with James Cropper's VECTIS™ fiber alignment technology.
UNIMAT is made from recycled and post-industrial carbon fiber feedstocks. The VECTIS process aligns discontinuous fibers by up to 95% while retaining the conformability of a nonwoven architecture. This combination is designed to help manufacturers use recycled carbon fiber in performance-driven composite applications without sacrificing manufacturability.
The material is positioned as an alternative to conventional unidirectional tapes for demanding composite applications. Its aligned fiber structure provides directional performance and mechanical integrity, while the nonwoven format offers conformability and ease of handling. The approach is intended to provide greater design flexibility and manufacturing efficiency.
The collaboration addresses the challenge of increasing recycled carbon fiber use in higher-value composite applications. Rather than limiting recovered fibers to lower-value uses, the companies are developing a material architecture that can be incorporated into performance-oriented composite structures. UNIMAT has attracted interest across aerospace, automotive, sporting goods, and industrial composite markets.
Tom Sharrock, Head of Sales at James Cropper Advanced Materials, said: “We're delighted that UNIMAT™ has been recognised with the CAMX Unsurpassed Innovation Award. The award reflects years of work across technical, operational and commercial teams, as well as the value of collaboration across the composite supply chain.”
The CAMX 2026 Unsurpassed Innovation Award was presented during CAMX 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. The award recognizes technologies intended to advance the composites and advanced materials industry through innovation, commercial viability, and potential industry impact.
The recognition adds to the companies' efforts to develop a more circular carbon fiber supply chain. By combining recovered carbon fiber with controlled fiber alignment and a conformable nonwoven architecture, UNIMAT provides a route for recycled reinforcement to move into a broader range of structural composite applications.
Source: James Cropper | News
