Overview 

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KTM Technologies and Carbon Cleanup are joining forces to turn waste into products. By combining Carbon Cleanup’s advanced carbon fiber recycling technology with KTM Technologies’ expertise in developing high-performance parts, the collaboration paves the way for sustainable innovation, transforming waste streams into next-generation circular products.

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The Challenge: Transforming Waste into Value

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The automotive industry is facing increasing pressure to changing the material strategy by increasing recycled content. However, engineers do not want to face any compromises when it comes to performance, safety or design freedom. Traditional composite materials, while lightweight and strong, are resource intensive to produce and considered as difficult to recycle, ending their lifecycle as waste.

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The challenge was clear:

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• How can composites be kept in the loop and reused in high-performance applications?
  
  
• What value can be unlocked from recycled materials in KTMs product portfolio?

Approach: Winning with Circular Products

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With scalability of circular products as the focus, each partner contributed distinct expertise to drive the project forward:

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• Carbon Cleanup
  
  • Converted composite waste into high-quality fiber blends.
  • Ensured that recycled fibers were consistent, clean, and process-ready.
  • Focused on creating a material feedstock that integrates into existing industrial workflows.
    
    
• KTM Technologies
  
  • Applied engineering expertise to design, prototype, and validate real mobility components.
  • Tested recycled fiber materials under demanding automotive performance conditions.
  • Evaluated strength, weight, durability, and design freedom against industry benchmarks.
    
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"The key to making products 100% circular is not just about turning carbon fiber into high-performance material, but then also integrating it into real parts and scaling its use in series production. This is why we focus on close collaborations with our partners" - Jörg Radanitsch, CEO (Carbon Cleanup)

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Step 1: Waste Collection

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High-value waste streams were identified and secured, including carbon fiber waste from crashed KTM X-Bow race cars and end-of-life polypropylene (PP) components from motorbikes.

Step 2 : Advanced Recycling Trials

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Using Carbon Cleanup’s near-zero recycling technology, the waste materials were processed and transformed into high-quality recyclates, ensuring both fibers and matrix could be re-utilized.

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Step 3 : Material Engineering

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Through both Carbon Cleanup’s and KTM Technologies’ expertise in Material Science and application, the recyclates were developed into engineered compounds tailored for high-performance requirements, ready to be used in injection molding.

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Step 4 : Material Testing & Validation

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The resulting compounds underwent rigorous testing to validate mechanical performance, recyclability, and suitability for integration into future series production.

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Outcome: Products that Perform

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Leveraging the combined expertise of Carbon Cleanup in recycling technology and KTM Technologies in product development, two advanced material solutions were created:

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• Compounds for injection molding, enabling direct use in high-performance plastic parts.
• Specially designed carbon Fiber Needles™ for BMC (Bulk Molding Compounds), offering enhanced reinforcement and processability.

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Want to see if your waste qualifies for closed loop products? Learn more about our Frontrunner Partnership.

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