The SLATE-COMPOSITES project will explore how waste from the Welsh slate industry can be transformed into sustainable fibres for use in composite materials. The project aims to create a circular, low-carbon alternative to conventional glass and basalt fibres, which are widely used in construction, automotive, and infrastructure products but are energy-intensive to manufacture and usually imported from overseas. Led by Pant Du Cyf, in partnership with Glass Technology Services (GTS) and the National Composites Centre (NCC), this short feasibility project will demonstrate the technical and environmental potential of slate-derived fibres. Using slate waste sourced from North Wales quarries, GTS will process the material and produce small-scale fibre samples through controlled melting and drawing trials. The NCC will then test these fibres for strength, stiffness, and structural integrity, comparing them with existing commercial materials to assess performance and identify opportunities for improvement. If successful, the work will show that slate waste can be repurposed into a valuable reinforcement material, reducing the need for virgin resources and cutting the embodied carbon of composite manufacturing. This approach supports the UK's transition to net-zero and resource-efficient manufacturing, while also creating new uses for an abundant, underutilised material with deep cultural and economic roots in Wales. We are hopefull that slate " the new - old material " will be the material of the future. The UK Goverment are seeking materials solutions that will reduce the relaience on scarce and foreign materials. The results of the SLATE-COMPOSITES project will generate the first mechanical and microstructural data on slate-based fibres and outline a roadmap for future research and scale-up. In the longer term, this innovation could open new commercial opportunities for sustainable composite materials made from UK resources, strengthening domestic supply chains and supporting regional economic growth. The project contributes directly to Innovate UK's vision for Circular Materials and Manufacturing, demonstrating how resource efficiency, waste reduction, and technological innovation can come together to make UK materials manufacturing more resilient, sustainable, and globally competitive. By combining scientific expertise with industrial collaboration, SLATE-COMPOSITES aims to prove that slate waste can play a modern role in advanced materials --- turning a traditional by-product of the Welsh landscape into a cornerstone of future sustainable manufacturing.

**Project** Pant Du seek to pioneer a naturally, highly nutritious Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with Welsh provenance, to aid in improved health and wellness. **Opportunity** Modern lifestyles following Western diets are linked to rising incidence of non-communicable diseases in the UK, such as type two diabetes mellitus. Additionally, around two-thirds of UK adults are above a healthy weight, and 1 in 3 children leaving primary school are already overweight. UK government policies have been developed to tackle the rise in obesity, diet-related ill health, and the increased pressure on the NHS. Emphasis is now shifting to healthier diets and the addition of 'functional foods,' which confer health benefits beyond basic nourishment by altering metabolic function. This has led to research in health-promoting elements in foods and beverages such as Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). ACV is a type of vinegar used in salad dressings, marinades, and sauces. ACV is mildly acidic (4-5% acetic acid) and can be made from cider/apple juice fermented with bacteria/yeast. Sugar first turns into alcohol, then acid, giving ACV its sour flavour. Acetic acid, polyphenols, flavonoids, and organic acids provide ACV its preventive properties, which can protect human health. In a well-balanced diet, moderate ACV consumption has many health benefits: antihyperlipidemia, anti-diabetic, neurodegenerative, antimicrobial, and antibacterial. ACV has enjoyed a surge in popularity recently due to its natural remedies for improving digestion, blood sugar level control, and satiety. **Innovation** We will select heritage apples and surplus/lower grade cider to enable the production of a secondary product containing natural health benefits. This ACV has the potential to meet demands to produce health benefiting functional ACV to be used in the food service industry as condiments or ingredients within cooking, as nutraceutical supplements, with improved nutritional quality, flavour, and enhanced health benefits and provenance. **Project outputs:** * Picking, fermentation and production of heritage ACV * Surplus/lower grade cider ACV production * Analytical data: acetic acid, alcohol and total polyphenols * Final products * Market Analysis and strategy, with promotion and outreach **Significance** Pant Du has an established business track record as well as experience in R&D and commercialisation of products and has access to large scale production facilities and state-of-the-art analytical facilities. This project is underpinned by extensive proof-of-market research with existing/prospective customers. **Outcome** Funding will catalyse time-to-market to develop and validate the effectiveness of the ACV production methods using heritage apples and surplus/lower grade cider to significant Welsh and UK nutrition challenges.