Recycled carbon fiber market forecast at $203.8 million by 2026

San Jose, CA – Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for recycled carbon fibers, estimated at $106.4 million in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $203.8 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 11.3 percent over the analysis period, according to Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR. Chopped, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at an 11.9 percent CAGR to reach $138.6 million by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the milled segment is readjusted to a revised 10.3 percent CAGR for the next seven-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 40.9 percent share of the global recycled carbon fibers market. Chopped fiber composite technology is suitable for meeting the needs of high volume, cost effective and lighter components for the automotive industry.

Companies covered include Alpha Recyclage Composites; Carbon Conversions Inc.; Carbon Fiber Recycle Industry Co., Ltd.; Carbon Fiber Recycling, Inc.; Carbon Fiber Remanufacturing; Catech H; CFK Valley Stade Recycling GmbH & Co Kg; Elevated Materials; ELG Carbon Fibre Ltd.; Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.; Karborek Recycling Carbon Fibers; Procotex Corporation SA; Rymyc S.R.L.; SGL Carbon; Shocker Composites LLC; Sigmatex; Toray Industries, Inc.; Vartega Inc.; V-Carbon; and others.

Recycled carbon fibers are derived from waste carbon fibers generated during processing of dry fibers, prepreg scrap sources and thermoset carbon fiber-reinforced composites. Recycled carbon fiber is suitable for use in the manufacture of non-woven and molding compounds, and thermoplastics.

Growth in the global market is set to be spurred by rising demand for high-performance and cost-effective composites coupled with stringent regulations to promote the adoption of green materials. Growth in the market is driven by compelling merits of these fibers including environmental sustainability, lightweight nature, energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Recycled carbon fibers are used to produce carbon fiber reinforced polymers that find applications in the automotive, sports & consumer goods, aerospace and marine industries. Recent advances related to fiber quality and processing of recycled carbon fibers are driving suppliers to shift the attention from down-cycling of these fibers into low-performance products towards new applications that gain from attractive properties of these materials.

The recycled carbon fibers market in the U.S. is estimated at $35.6 million in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 29.8 percent share in the global market. China, the world’s second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of $35.9 million in the year 2026, trailing a CAGR of 10.8 percent through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 9.9 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at an approximate 8.1 percent CAGR, while the rest of the European market (as defined in the study) will reach $30.6 million by the end of the analysis period. The growing safety concerns of consumers are leading auto manufacturers to move towards stronger automotive bodies involving the use of carbon fiber, as against conventional metal bodies. In view of these requirements and the rising demand for carbon fiber, several commercial organizations, most in the EU and North America, have established carbon fiber recycling programs. The aerospace industry is a major end-use market for carbon fibers. Most of the production capacity of small-tow carbon fibers, used in the aerospace industry, is located in Asia.