French startup Fairmat closed a $35 million (€34 million) Series A financing round last month. It wants to turn disused carbon fiber composite into a new material that can be used in new products.
Temasek and CNP (Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille) lead the round, along with Pictet Group, Singular, The Friedkin Group International and others. In total, the company has raised $45.5 million (€44 million) since its inception.
The idea behind Fairmat is quite simple. Some high-tech materials such as carbon fiber composites have great properties. These materials are light, flexible and resistant. That’s why you find carbon fiber composites in wind turbines or airplanes.
When these industrial projects reach end-of-life status, Fairmat steps in and picks up those elements with carbon fiber composites. The startup then creates a new kind of material that isn’t as advanced as carbon fiber composites, but could be very useful.
You won’t find Fairmat material in wind turbines, but you can buy items you use in your daily life that are made from this new type of material. This one material is called Fairmat Quest and it could be 10 times cheaper than new composites and twice as light as aluminum.
And the company has made great strides since my first article on Fairmat. It has partnered with 15 industrial companies to collect their carbon fiber waste, including Hexcel, Tarmac Aerosave, Siemens Gamesa, Dassault Aviation and MerConcept. It is a very concentrated market as those 15 companies represent more than 35% of the carbon fiber composite waste in Europe.
On the other side of the market, some production companies are already working on prototypes with Fairmat’s new material. While the startup can’t reveal the names behind its 30 contracts, you’ll soon find sporting goods, audio products, and furniture made with Fairmat Quest.
With today’s financing round, the company plans to gradually improve the throughput of its automated sorting facility. Ultimately, 100 robots will process up to 3,500 tons of scrap per year.
In 2023, Fairmat also plans to expand to the US. At the moment, 80 people work for the company. By 2025, Fairmat hopes to employ 400 people.
Recycled materials have a much lower carbon footprint than virgin material, which is the main reason why Fairmat will easily find customers for years to come. Once carbon accounting regulations become widespread, manufacturers will look to new materials such as Fairmat Quest to reduce the overall impact of their production.
