#Composites

2024-12-05

JEC Composites Innovation Awards 2025: Finalists announced

The JEC Composites Innovation Awards, a renowned global platform celebrating excellence in the composites industry, has unveiled its 33 finalists for 2025. Over 27 years, the awards have recognized 258 organizations and 670 partners, spotlighting innovative breakthroughs and impactful collaborations across the value chain.

A350 production scrap into MFFD rod - a project led by herone from Germany: Scrap from Collins Aerospace is compounded by SPIRAL into granulate, molded into inserts, and co-consolidated with Teijin slit tape. These lightweight rods replace metallic parts, offering recyclability, toughness, and short cycle times © 2024 heron

This year, 33 finalists will compete in 11 categories, including Aerospace, Automotive, Circularity & Recycling, and Renewable Energies. The winners, chosen by a distinguished international jury, will be revealed at the JEC World 2025 Premiere on January 13th in Paris and online. The event will also highlight 20 startups selected for the Startup Booster competition.

These awards continue to showcase cutting-edge projects that push the boundaries of technology, sustainability, and collaboration, offering a glimpse into the future of composites.

The competition highlights visionary projects born from collective intelligence and collaboration, with a focus on technical complexity, sustainability, and commercial potential. Winners will be selected by an international jury of industry experts and announced at the JEC World 2025 Premiere on January 13 in Paris and online.

The JEC Composites Innovation Awards 2025 finalists showcase remarkable advancements across various sectors. Here are some standout entries:

Aerospace – Parts

AEGO X Aircraft Composite Seat Leg

Developed by Bonny-Surewin Worldwide (Taiwan) in collaboration with Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation and others, this project introduces a one-shot manufacturing process for uninterrupted prepreg fiber structures, aiming to replace traditional metal seat legs in commercial aircraft. The use of lightweight, epoxy-based CFRP reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, while the innovative manufacturing process lowers production costs and maintenance needs.

Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator (MFFD)

Led by Airbus Operations GmbH (Germany) with partners including Aernnova Aeropaces and Diehl Aviation, this full-scale demonstrator represents a typical single-aisle commercial aircraft fuselage section. It integrates multiple functions to enhance structural efficiency and reduce weight, contributing to more sustainable aviation solutions.

Automotive & Road Transportation – Parts

Lightweight Thermoplastic Convertible Roof Beam

This innovation focuses on a thermoplastic composite roof beam designed for convertible vehicles, offering significant weight reduction and improved manufacturing efficiency. The project exemplifies advancements in automotive lightweighting and process optimization.

Circularity & Recycling

A350 Production Scrap into MFFD Rod

This initiative addresses sustainability by repurposing production scrap from the Airbus A350 into materials for the Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator, exemplifying effective recycling practices in aerospace manufacturing.

Renewable Energies

ZEBRA - Zero wastE Blade ReseArch project

This project focuses on developing fully recyclable wind turbine blades, aiming to enhance sustainability in the renewable energy sector by addressing end-of-life challenges for composite materials.

These examples highlight the innovative spirit driving the composites industry toward more efficient, sustainable, and advanced solutions across multiple sectors.

The exclusive event will also unveil the 20 startups chosen for the Startup Booster competition and highlight the future of composites innovation.

Discover the full list of finalists and join JEC in celebrating the cutting-edge advancements shaping the industry. Visit

https://www.jeccomposites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CP-Finalists-JEC-Innovation-Awards-2025-ENG-.pdf

JEC World 2026 reveals the list of finalists for the Innovation Awards

Each year, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards recognize collaborative, innovative, and ambitious projects that illustrate the potential of composite materials. Created in 1998, this benchmark program aims to identify, promote, and reward the most innovative composite solutions worldwide. In 28 years, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards have attracted more than 2,200 participating companies from around the world. A total of 269 companies and 811 associated partners have been recognized for the excellence of their innovations.

Launch of the first JEC Forum Middle East

JEC is proud to announce the signature of a strategic collaboration agreement with the OSP and IFC Promosalons, the representative of JEC in the region. The major agreement aims to organize a series of events dedicated to Composite Materials held in Saudi Arabia for the first time in the Middle East starting in June 2025. The events will facilitate the creation of opportunities for local and international companies and accelerate the adoption of sustainable materials across multiple industries in the region.

JEC World 2025: a record-breaking 60th edition driven by innovation and circularity

After 3 dynamic days of intense business interactions, expertise sharing, and knowledge exchange, the 60th edition of JEC World 2025 has reaffirmed the pivotal role of the composites industry in building a more sustainable future. Under the unifying theme “Pushing the Limits,” the event showcased the extraordinary versatility and innovation of composite materials that continue to redefine lightweighting, performance, and design possibilities for an increasing number of applications.

MEL Composites and Carrocerías Ayats collaborate on lightweight composite window frames

MEL Composites is proud to announce its ongoing collaboration with Spanish bus and coach manufacturer Carrocerías Ayats, showcasing the benefits of advanced composite technologies and scalable manufacturing processes originally developed for the sporting goods sector. The joint development of lightweight composite window frame covers demonstrates how MEL’s process innovation can be successfully transferred to the transportation industry to meet new regulatory and performance goals.

SHIMA SEIKI returns to ShanghaiTex

Leading flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Hong Kong and Chinese market subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI (HONG KONG) LTD., will exhibit at the ShanghaiTex 2025 exhibition (Booth No.: Hall N3, Booth A20) held in Shanghai, China this month. This marks the return of SHIMA SEIKI to ShanghaiTex after a 14-year hiatus, its last exhibit at the show having been in 2011.

Fraunhofer CCPE presents the “Monomaterial Design Set” – Innovative solutions for circular product design

Composite materials made from different types of plastic often extend the lifetime of products but make recycling more difficult in the circular economy. That is why Fraunhofer CCPE has developed the “Monomaterial Design Set”. This new approach helps to reduce the variety of plastics used in durable products and offers circular solutions for designers and product developers.

arena introduces renewable LYCRA® EcoMade fiber in its latest swimwear collection

Italian swimwear specialist arena has unveiled a new collection that brings sustainability and performance even closer together. Launched on December 4, the line features swimsuits made from recycled nylon and renewable LYCRA® EcoMade fiber — the first time the bio-based spandex has been used commercially in swimwear.