Carbon Fiber Recycling

What Carbon Fiber Recycling does

Carbon Fiber Recycling (CFR), operating as Carbon Fiber Recycling, LLC, is a Tazewell, Tennessee-based recycling company that processes waste carbon fiber materials into clean, reusable recycled carbon fiber (rCF). Founded in 2018 by Doug Griffin (with prior R&D from 2012 in Bethel, Connecticut), the company serves manufacturers in aerospace, automotive/motorsports, pressure vessel, construction, and consumer goods who generate dry fiber, prepreg, and cured composite waste. The company's technical foundation is a patented continuous-flow pyrolysis reactor that operates 24/7, volatilizing epoxies and resins in the absence of oxygen while preserving the carbon fiber; the process is differentiated by a fiber-polishing step that removes both 100% of resin and the residual coke layer, delivering independently verified 95%+ purity and the cleanest rCF in the industry per the company. CFR's Tazewell, Tennessee commercial facility has a nameplate capacity of over 3.4 million pounds (1,700 tons) of rCF annually, with full commercial production beginning in January 2024.

CFR's business model is a fee-free recycling service combined with resale of the resulting fiber: material providers send carbon fiber waste to CFR and pay only shipping costs, while CFR sells the processed rCF directly to manufacturers producing pellets, matting, non-woven fabrics, concrete reinforcement, and carbon fiber composites. The product portfolio spans 6mm chopped fiber, 18mm chopped fiber, pelletized rCF, milled rCF (100-300 microns), and non-woven rCF, with adjustable fiber length and bulk density configurable to customer specs. Pricing is positioned at a fraction of virgin carbon fiber cost, and the closed-loop energy system — where non-condensible gases power the reactor — supports both a cost advantage and a sustainability claim of over 90% less energy use and up to 99% CO2 offset versus virgin carbon fiber production. Named enterprise customers include DALLARA, NASCAR, Tokyo Rope, Hexagon, SILCA, Endeavor Composites, and Carbon Fiber Remanufacturing. The company is founder-controlled, privately held, and bootstrapped with no disclosed venture capital or private equity investment, operating a lean team of approximately 10 employees across its Tennessee headquarters and Connecticut R&D presence.

Name

Carbon Fiber Recycling

Legal name

Carbon Fiber Recycling, LLC

Website

https://carbonfiberrecycling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carbon Fiber Recycling (CFR) is a Tennessee-based recycler that converts waste carbon fiber — dry fiber, prepreg, and cured composites — into clean recycled carbon fiber using a patented continuous-flow pyrolysis process, selling rCF to manufacturers in aerospace, automotive, construction, and consumer goods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycled Carbon Fiber Materials

NAICS

Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (32522)

SIC

Textile Mill Products (2200)

akta.pro primary industry

Chemical/Advanced Plastics Recycling (Depolymerization, Pyrolysis, Solvolysis) (IMANAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Chemical Recycling & Depolymerization (e.g., PET/Polyamide/Cellulosics) (IMAOAMAC)

Keywords

• Carbon fiber recycling
• Recycled carbon fiber
• Composite materials recycling
• Pyrolysis recycling process
• Continuous flow reactor

Headquarters

HQ city

Tazewell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Recycled Carbon Fiber Sales: CFR generates revenue by selling clean, recycled carbon fiber (rCF) produced from their proprietary pyrolysis process. The fiber is sold to manufacturers for use in pellets, matting, concrete products, and carbon fiber composites. Pricing is a fraction of virgin carbon fiber cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Carbon Fiber Recycling (CFR) operates a patented continuous-flow pyrolysis process that converts end-of-life and excess carbon fiber materials (dry fiber, prepreg, and cured composites) into clean recycled carbon fiber (rCF). The company accepts manufacturers' carbon fiber waste at no processing fee (shipping only) and sells the resulting recycled fiber products directly to manufacturers producing pellets, matting, concrete additives, and carbon fiber composites.

Product overview

Carbon Fiber Recycling (CFR) offers a portfolio of recycled carbon fiber (rCF) products produced through a patented continuous-flow pyrolysis process. The core product lineup consists of: 6mm rCF (random length chopped fiber with adjustable bulk density for concrete, non-woven, and composite applications), 18mm rCF (longer chopped fiber for concrete additives, mortar, and asphalt), Pelletized rCF (flow-optimized pellets for injection molding and 3D printing), Milled rCF (100-300 micron particles for precision metering), and Non woven rCF (for high-performance layup). All products are derived from recycled dry fiber, prepreg, and cured composites, with no processing fees for material providers. The product portfolio enables closed-loop recycling solutions across manufacturing, construction, and automotive industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 6mm rCF Sustainable recycled 6mm carbon fiber (chopped fiber with 2.5mm standard deviation) available in different bulk density variants; used by manufacturers in concrete applications, non-woven fabric production, CFRP, and milling operations.
• 18mm rCF Sustainable recycled 18mm chopped carbon fiber suited for applications requiring longer fibers such as concrete additives, non-woven applications, mortar, and asphalt.
• Pelletized rCF Recycled carbon fiber pellets designed for CFRP, injection molding, ratio feeding, and 3D printing; available with various sizing chemistries for compatibility with different polymers, improving process flowability and reducing dust.
• Milled rCF Milled recycled carbon fiber typically ranging from 100 to 300 microns, with ability to mill to customer specifications; enables metering, flow, and ratio feeding in manufacturing processes.
• Non woven rCF Recycled carbon fiber for high-performance layup applications; produces lightweight, high-performance nonwoven fabrics with sustainability benefits of using carbon fiber that would have been destined for landfill.
• Carbon Fiber Recycling Service Industrial-scale recycling service for manufacturers' excess and end-of-life carbon fiber materials (dry fiber, prepreg, and cured composites containing at least 50% carbon fiber); no processing fee charged to material providers, with clients only bearing shipping costs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% less energy than virgin carbon fiber production
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IACMI - The Composites InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFR participates in IACMI's monthly Innovation Insights webinar series, sharing updates on products, technology, and innovations with the composites industry community. IACMI CCO Jason Gibson moderates discussions featuring CFR and other member companies.
• University of TexasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity research conducted with CFR's recycled carbon fiber demonstrated successful use in ultra-high-performance concrete. Research published in MDPI journals verified fiber properties meet or exceed virgin carbon fiber in concrete applications.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Toray Industries: World's largest carbon fiber producer with sustainability programs and recycled fiber offerings; competes in the same end markets (aerospace, automotive, sporting goods) where CFR's rCF is sold.
• Hexcel: Aerospace-focused composites manufacturer with growing sustainability commitments and exploration of recycled carbon fiber content; one of CFR's named enterprise customers and a potential upstream/downstream counterpart.
• SGL Carbon: Major global carbon fiber and graphite manufacturer with established recycling operations (including the Carboclave project); competes broadly in carbon fiber materials and offers recycled content solutions overlapping with CFR.
• Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber & Composites: Large carbon fiber and composite materials producer with recycling and sustainability initiatives targeting aerospace, automotive, and industrial applications served by CFR.
• Solvay Composite Materials: Global composites and specialty materials company with sustainability programs including recovered fiber initiatives, serving aerospace and automotive customers where CFR's rCF competes.
• Teijin Carbon: Major carbon fiber manufacturer with Tenax branded fibers and a stated focus on closed-loop recycling solutions, addressing many of the same downstream composite and industrial customer needs as CFR.

Direct peers

• Gen 2 Carbon (formerly ELG Carbon Fibre): The world's largest commercial recycler of carbon fiber, formed from the assets of ELG Carbon Fibre, operating pyrolysis-based recycling at industrial scale and serving aerospace, automotive, and wind energy customers — the same niche as Carbon Fiber Recycling.
• Carbon Conversions Inc. US-based carbon fiber recycler producing chopped, milled, and pelletized rCF products from reclaimed composite scrap using thermal processing — directly comparable to CFR's product portfolio and customer applications.

Emerging players

• Circ: Emerging fiber-to-fiber recycler using chemical depolymerization to recover raw materials from blended textiles; adjacent technology category with potential convergence as carbon fiber waste streams are addressed.

Regional players

• Procotex: European textile fiber recycling company processing various fiber types into secondary raw materials; similar fiber recycling activities as CFR but primarily serves a different geography (Europe) with mechanical rather than pyrolysis processing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CFRecycling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbon-fiber-recycling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carbon Fiber Recycling