This Analysis for Innovators projects takes NELs expertise in fluid & particle dynamics and applies it to Lineats novel recycled carbon fibre process. Carbon fibre is renowned for its high strength to weight ratio, frequently used in lightweighting applications across a range of markets. However, it comes with heavy environmental and financial costs. It is 40x more expensive than steel with 20x higher CO2 emissions per kg, yet less than 10% is recycled making it one of world's most expensive single-use materials. Additionally what is recycled is of poor performance and limited to filler products, reducing the potential market for recycled carbon fibre significantly. This results in tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon fibre entering landfill every year, at the same time that the UK is heavily reliant on carbon fibre imports. Lineats process offers a solution for both of these problems simultaneously, taking chopped carbon fibre waste and converting it into an aligned continuous tape, which can act as a substitute for virgin carbon fibre. This is done via the dispersion of carbon fibres in water, and then spraying them through a patented alignment process. However productivity and quality are hindered by the formation of networks of intermingled fibres, known as flocs, creating defects in the end product as well as delaying production, and limiting the concentration of fibres in the water, limiting output. Attempts to predict floc formation within the process via fluid simulation have been unsuccessful as fibre-fibre interaction is a crucial parameter, and further experimental testing is not feasible due to the scale of equipment and volumes of water involved. To model the flow of fibres and fluid through the process NEL will utilise advanced computational fluid dynamic techniques alongside particle dynamic analysis via the discrete element model. This will enable the conditions and parameters that influence floc formation to be identified, enabling future machines to be optimised. This will be supported by experimental testing performed by Lineat.

New sustainable innovations are necessary to meet the evolving and critical needs of Co2e reduction targets for the aerospace sector and to deliver costs that remain competitive, maintain and grow capability and onshore work to the UK. Manufacturing carbon composite airframe structure today demands a high level of manual labour involving many separate components with numerous steps based upon traditional laminate design theory. ASPIRE will develop the next step in composite airframe performance which will require a special focus on quality assurance throughout the process flow and supply chain and deliver lower weight airframe to support increased weight electric and hydrogen propulsion systems. As a leading tier 1 supplier of current state of the art wing and movable structures GKN Aerospace provides airframe products, such as flaps and leading & trailing edge devices and has a strong presence in the UK on a range of aircraft, from large civil aircraft to business jets and UAM airframes. The ASPIRE project addresses two key GKN Aerospace products which require sustainable approaches; **single aisle control surface** and a **high aspect wing ratio wing tip** for next generation large civil airframe. **Optimisation of composite products** with feasibility studies and demonstration of aero elastic tailored products and light weighting development through the use of non-standard fibre orientations with an assessment on post buckling performance. Targeting light weighting and sustainable manufacturing technologies and in service cost reduction in collaboration with Bath University which extends the GKN Bath Chair relationship. Key innovation opportunities are in representative and quantifiable airframe product validation of **tow shearing deposition technologies** aimed at reduced weight airframes with the ICOMAT team. Sustainable manufacture will be driven and quantified with the inclusion of Pentaxia **JOULETOOL** capability to deliver significant energy reduction over traditional autoclave curing methods and the reuse of specific to aerospace materials for dry fibre noodle applications and uncured pre-preg material for tertiary structure with CarbonThreeSixty and LINEAT partner developments. Combined with key activity on **cross-cutting optimised manufacturing** from the UK automotive sector will enable lower weight structures with improved aerodynamics at lower cost. ASPIRE targets global market worth more than £43Bn. Upon success and adoption, it will facilitate * Increase in UK Single Aisle market share * Deliver significant workforce capability increase to support 2050 net zero goals

Lineat have produced a first to market highly aligned pre-preg tape, made out of recycled carbon fibre (rCF). Feedback across the market has been very good, but most interest lies in dry tape material, that can be pre-pregged later, or used in other applications like non-crimp fabrics (NCFs). The aim of this project is to develop the process of adding a low weight binder to Lineats tape and develop the manufacture of NCF material made from rCF. These rCF-NCFs will be made in collaboration with ITA & Saertex, one of the market leaders in NCF manufacture. These rCF-NCF materials will be characterised and used to make a demonstrator in collaboration with Greenboats, to showcase the potential of rCF in NCFs. Alongside this guidelines for the use of rCF NCFs in manufacture will be published, along with a life cycle analysis (LCA). By developing an rCF NCF it will introduce recycled carbon fibre to a brand new audience. The goal of using Saertexs waste to produce new NCF will be an exciting demonstration of the potential of rCF and the circular economy. This will help to reduce the growing problem of carbon fibre waste, diverting significant amounts from landfill and saving CO2\. It will also expand Lineats market offering both through accessing the NCF market, as well as through the development of a dry tape system

SCALE-UP addresses the challenge of high-volume sustainable lightweighting in Battery electric Vehicle using composite materials and delivering four innovations. *  A lighter, sustainable/lower-CO2e, affordable door, as alternative to aluminium benchmark, anticipating future legislation and decarbonisation of aluminium. * A high-volume, affordable, sustainable carbon fibre wheel breaking the ceiling of state-of-art production volume through deployment of innovative design and manufacturing process. * Production scale-up of high-performance recycled carbon fibre materials to allow mass production of recycled carbon fibre composite retaining up to 90% of the original performance. * Digital tools using new modelling methods predicting the feasibility, performance and quality of the final products.

This Analysis for Innovators project applies Swansea ASTUTE Centre of Excellence expertise on on material surface characterisation to Lineat's novel carbon fibre recycling process. Carbon fibre is well known for its high strength and lightweight properties but has a heavy cost and environmental burden. It is 40x more expensive than steel with 20x higher CO2 emissions per kg, yet less than 10% is recycled making it one of world's most expensive single-use materials. Carbon fibre may be recovered from articles made from carbon fibre composites, but less than 10% is re-used with about 50,000 tonnes landfilled globally p.a. And, the UK relies heavily on carbon fibre import. Improved and expanded capabilities for recycling carbon fibre is a clear and urgent need. Recycled use is currently limited to filler or felt, with poor performance, and as a consequence the market is volume and value limited to less than 10,000 tonne or 200mn USD for basic compounding applications. Lineat has shown how up to 50% of virgin fibre can be replaced with its aligned recycled fibre, offering a high value solution. Lineat's processes recovered short chopped fibre into a new continuous tape consisting of aligned discontinuous fibres which when aligned can substitute virgin material. Alignment is done by first dispersing fibres into water and then spraying them through a patented hydro-alignment set-up. However, the productivity and economics of the process are at present limited by difficulties in dispersing fibre at higher concentrations. The surface of the carbon fibres can vary greatly between waste sources and require different dispersion strategies. Based on theoretical limits, a 10x increase in production speed should be possible helping to save more carbon fibre otherwise destined for landfill. To achieve this objective ASTUTE will use advanced techniques for characterisation of the fibre surface, leading to optimal selection of additives to promote fibre dispersion. In parallel, Lineat will trial these in its process to maximise dispersion concentration and fibre alignment quality, leading to a high value solution for recycled carbon fibre.