Composite Recycling Technology Center

The Recycled Carbon Fiber Innovation Accelerator EDA i6 grant was awarded to the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) of Port Angeles, Washington on November 15, 2016.

Our goal is to establish a new, transformational manufacturing community in Washington State by bringing together the materials and methods utilized by the region’s leaders in composite aerospace and machine manufacturing to foster entrepreneurial activity using recycled carbon fiber. By diverting carbon fiber pre-preg scrap away from the landfill into a valuable secondary material for innovative product manufacture, the CRTC is creating an opportunity for Clallam County, manufacturers, regional small businesses, and creative innovators and entrepreneurs while simultaneously improving our environment.

Clallam County has experienced a significant downturn in its economy as it has struggled to diversify its economy away from natural resource extraction. As timber harvesting has slowed, timber manufacturing has been moving offshore leading to mill closures and high unemployment. Clallam County is classified as distressed, with the three-year average unemployment rate at 8.7 percent (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2015, not seasonally adjusted).

Partners in the Accelerator are Peninsula College, Profile Composites, Altair Engineering, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Impact Washington, the Composites Washington Consortium, the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Program, business and engineering students/interns, and the technical and business community.

CRTC’s Recycled Carbon Fiber Accelerator project will bring diverse teams together to propose and develop new product ventures using recycled carbon fiber pre-preg as the foundational material. Over two cycles of product ideation, detailed design and development, and verification and planning, the objective is to grow the opportunity for individuals to become entrepreneurs, successfully and quickly launching new product ventures that capitalize on the CRTC’s technical capabilities. This includes manufacturing capacity, business development support network, and the fundamental advantages of low-cost recycled carbon fiber.

This project seeks to establish a self-supporting, highly synergistic cycle of innovation that creates new businesses and leads skilled workers back into the local manufacturing sector.