European advanced materials innovator Uplift360 has closed a €7.4 million seed financing round led by Extantia, with major participation from the NATO Innovation Fund, Promus Ventures and Fund F, accelerating deployment of its proprietary chemical regeneration platform that restores high-value composite materials, such as carbon fibre, aramid fibres and hybrid laminates, to near-virgin performance quality.
The funding will underwrite commissioning of a pilot-scale processing line in the UK in 2026 and expand partnerships with OEMs in aerospace, defence, energy and automotive sectors, addressing critical supply-chain bottlenecks in strategic composite materials and underpinning Europe's drive toward circularity and material sovereignty.
Uplift360 already works with major industrial partners such as Babcock on Eurofighter Typhoon end-of-life materials recovery, Leonardo on turning Merlin helicopter blades into UxV components, and a project with Rolls-Royce.
The round was led by Extantia, one of Europe's leading deep tech venture funds, with significant contributions from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Promus Ventures and Fund F.
Advanced materials like carbon fibre and aramids underpin defence, aerospace and manufacturing and are critical to Europe's ability to revitalise industrial capabilities more broadly. However, these materials currently face severe supply-chain bottlenecks due to geopolitical pressure and limited virgin fibre availability.
Sam Staincliffe, CEO & Co-Founder of Uplift360, said: "This investment is a clear signal that Europe intends to lead in sustainable advanced-materials manufacturing. Our technology turns what is currently burned, buried or exported into a reliable, high-quality feedstock stream, strengthening supply-chains for primes, OEMs and government customers. With Extantia and the NATO Innovation Fund behind us, we're now positioned to scale with urgency."
Joern-Carlos Kuntze, Partner at Extantia, said: "High-performance composites underpin strategic sectors critical to Europe's reindustrialisation, yet remain notoriously difficult to recycle. Uplift360 is changing that: transforming end-of-life materials into high-quality feedstock while building resilient circular supply chains in the process."
Sander Verbrugge, Partner at the NATO Innovation Fund, said: "Durable, high-quality advanced materials are of strategic importance to securing the future of NATO nations. Uplift360's platform is exactly the kind of dual-use innovation Europe needs, tackling a real supply-chain vulnerability, reducing carbon emissions and bolstering the resilience of the sectors that underpin European industrialisation and competitiveness."
Carina Roth, Investment Manager at Fund F, said: "Uplift360 stands out due to Sam and Jamie's exceptional synergy, deep industry expertise and drive to create an impact. Their team perfectly bridges deep-tech innovation with the operational maturity needed to scale, positioning them uniquely to turn composite waste into a sovereign industrial strength."
Source: www.uplift360.tech
