Recycled Carbon Fiber Market by Type (Chopped, Milled), Source (Aerospace Scrap, Automotive Scrap), End-use Industry (Automotive & Transportation, Consumer goods, Sporting Goods, Aerospace & Defense), & Region - Global Forecast to 2028

Recycled Carbon Fiber Market by Type (Chopped, Milled), Source (Aerospace Scrap, Automotive Scrap), End-use Industry (Automotive & Transportation, Consumer goods, Sporting Goods, Aerospace & Defense), & Region - Global Forecast to 2028

The recycled carbon fiber market is estimated to grow USD 172 million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 278 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 10.0% from 2023 to 2028. These material features excellent properties such as high strength and modulus, low density, dimensional stability, and low thermal expansion. The demand for high-performance, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly materials drives the market for recycled carbon fiber. However, a lack of technical knowledge related to the manufacturing of recycled carbon fiber is a major factor inhibiting market growth. This fiber faces tough competition from E-glass and S-glass fibers, among other low-cost mature products, further restraining market growth.

“Chopped type is the dominated segment in the recycled carbon fiber market in terms of both value and volume in 2022.”

Chopped recycled carbon fiber is suitable for various compounding processes and industrial mixing such as injection molding. It exhibits good electrical conductivity, low density, less thermal expansion, no corrosiveness, and excellent free-flowing characteristics. It can be used in low- and high-temperature applications and for manufacturing electrically conductive materials. It is 3–100 millimeters long and has applications in the aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, and wind energy end-use industries.

“Automotive scrap source is the second highest segment in recycle carbon fiber market in terms of both value and volume.”

Automotive OEMs focus on stringent laws implemented by governments worldwide, placing restrictions on waste disposal in landfills. Developed countries, including Germany, the US, and Japan, are widely using eco-friendly products. The EU has mandated that 85% of the materials used in vehicles need to be recycled. They offer their carbon fiber-based scrap products for recycling. Recycled automotive scrap is used in various end-use industries to manufacture low-cost and high-performance products. The reclaimed carbon fiber from automotive scrap has properties similar to virgin carbon fiber, with the strength of the fiber reduced by small variations.

“Consumer goods end-use industry to be the second largest in the recycle carbon fiber in terms of both value and volume.”

Consumer goods were the second-largest market in 2022 and are anticipated to grow significantly during the forecast period with a CAGR of 10.4% (in terms of value). Recycled carbon fiber provides electrical conductivity and antistatic characteristics to polymer compositions and coatings used in microelectronics products. Due to their improved mechanical properties, carbon fiber resin additions of 10–60% can assist in reducing the weight or thickness of plastic components. In addition, the electric conductivity of carbon fiber provides additional performance to plastic material to prevent static load and offer a shield from electromagnetic interference. Due to its performance advantages, recycled carbon fiber is more frequently used in plastic composites for electronics, including notebook PCs, LCD projectors, camera bodies, and lenses. For instance, Dell Computers buys products from Gen 2 Carbon (previously ELG Carbon Fiber) to make its laptop cases.

“North America is the second-highest dominating region in recycled carbon fiber market in terms of both value and volume.”

North America is a prominent market for recycled carbon fiber due to the demand from the aerospace & defense sector. This demand from aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer goods, and other end-use industries is expected to increase due to product innovations and technological advancements. The presence of established market players such as Carbon Conversions (US), Automotive & Transportation Recycling, Inc. (US), and Shocker Composites LLC. (US), contributes to market growth. These players have undertaken numerous agreements and expansions to cater to the increasing demand for recycled carbon fiber from various end-use industries. For instance, the automotive & transportation recycling (US) has built a facility in Tazewell, Tennessee, with a capacity to recycle up to 2,000 tons of automotive & transportation scrap per annum.

This study has been validated through primary interviews conducted with various industry experts globally. These primary sources have been divided into the following three categories:

By Company Type- Tier 1- 37%, Tier 2- 33%, and Tier 3- 30%

By Designation- C Level- 50%, Director Level- 20%, and Others- 30%

By Region- Europe- 50%, Asia Pacific (APAC) - 20%, North America- 15%, Middle East & Africa (MEA)-10%, Latin America-5%,

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of company profiles :

Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan), Gen 2 Carbon Limited (UK), Carbon Conversions, Inc. (US), Carbon Fiber Recycling (US), Shocker Composites, LLC. (US), Procotex (Belgium), Carbon Fiber Remanufacturing (US), Alpha Recyclage Composites (France), Mitsubishi Chemical Group (Japan), and CATACK-H (South Korea).

Research Coverage

This report covers the global recycled carbon fiber market and forecasts the market size until 2028. It includes the following market segmentation – by Type (Chopped Recycled Carbon Fiber, Milled Recycled Carbon Fiber), by Source (Aerospace Scrap, Automotive Scrap & Others), by End-use industry (Automotive & Transportation, Consumer Goods, Sporting Goods, Industrial, Marine, Aerospace & Defense, and Others), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Latin America). Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, along with the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges, have been discussed in the report. It also provides company profiles and competitive strategies adopted by the major players in the global recycled carbon fiber market.

Key benefits of buying the report:

The report is expected to help market leaders/new entrants in this market in the following ways:

1. This report segments the global recycled carbon fiber market comprehensively. It provides the closest approximations of the revenues for the overall market and the sub-segments across different verticals and regions.

2. The report helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the recycled carbon fiber market and provides them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.

3. This report will help stakeholders to understand competitors better and gain more insights to better their position in their businesses. The competitive landscape section includes the competitor ecosystem, new product development, agreement, contract, expansion, and acquisition.

Reasons to buy the report:

The report will help leaders/new entrants in this market by providing them with the closest approximations of the revenues for the overall recycled carbon fiber market and the sub-segments. This report will help stakeholders to understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights and position their businesses and market strategies in a better way.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:

Analysis of key drivers (Regulations on eco-friendly products, Increasing demand for carbon fibers from composites industry), restraints (Lack of technical knowledge, Use of economic products), opportunities (Use of recyclable and lightweight materials in automotive & transportation sectors), and challenges (Promoting recycled carbon fiber for commercial applications, Less availability of composite waste) influencing the growth of the recycled carbon fiber market

Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product & service launches in the recycled carbon fiber market

Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets – the report analyses the recycled carbon fiber market across varied regions

Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products & services, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the recycled carbon fiber industry market

Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies and service offerings of leading players like Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan), Gen 2 Carbon Limited (UK), Carbon Conversions, Inc. (US), Carbon Fiber Recycling (US), Shocker Composites, LLC. (US), Procotex (Belgium), Carbon Fiber Remanufacturing (US), Alpha Recyclage Composites (France), Mitsubishi Chemical Group (Japan), and CATACK-H (South Korea), among others in the recycled carbon fiber market