AVK Innovation Award 2025 honours circular and industrialisable processes

The winners of the AVK Innovation Award were revealed on 21 October in Dresden during the JEC Forum DACH. The 2025 edition celebrates composite technologies that are more circular, lighter and more industrial, grouped into three categories: Products and Applications, Processes and Methods, and Research and Science.

3D printing, aerospace and fire safety reinventing themselves

In the Products & Applications category, first place went to Zeisberg Carbon for 3D-Formwork, a patented 3D-printed concrete formwork system using fibre-reinforced thermoplastics made from recycled materials. Produced with Germany’s largest 3D printer (up to 6 m × 2 m × 3 m), the moulds and matrices combine automation, waste reduction and architectural freedom. Zeisberg is thus transposing the principles of Industry 4.0 into construction, paving the way for sustainable and aesthetic infrastructures.

Second place was awarded to Invent, together with partners Nord-Micro and Kohpa, for a carbon heating system (CHS) integrated directly into the composite air ducts of aircraft cabins. Heat is generated through the conductivity of carbon fibres, eliminating metallic heaters and bleed-air systems. The concept reduces weight, fuel consumption and emissions while improving air quality. Certified under DO-160 after more than 3,300 hours of testing, the CHS illustrates the growing maturity of lightweight electrified systems in aviation.

Third place went to 3D|Core for its patented 3D|Core FR Sealing foam, a closed-cell polymer-mineral blend. Easy to apply by spraying or rolling, this foam combines thermal insulation, fire protection and low weight, while eliminating the need for manual layers of glass fibre and fire-retardant resin. Certified to IMO FTP 2010 and EN 45545-2 HL3, it provides a reliable and cost-effective solution for sandwich structures in the railway and marine industries.

Chemical recycling, fibre placement and closed loops

In the Processes & Methods category, Secara took first place with a chemical recycling process capable of depolymerising reinforced engineering polymers (polyamides, polycarbonates, PBT) into high-purity monomers. These can be reused in existing industrial value chains, reducing CO₂ emissions by up to 70 %. Supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the European Social Fund, the project marks a key step towards the valorisation of complex composites.

The Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden (IPF) and the Formula Student Team TU Dresden won second place with a carbon suspension arm produced using Tailored Fibre Placement (TFP). This process aligns fibres along load paths, optimising both strength and weight. The result is a 183 g component, around 40 % lighter than its titanium equivalent, capable of withstanding 5 kN of load.

Amiblu Germany GmbH completed the podium with a closed-loop recycling process for grinding dust generated during GRP pipe production. More than 90 % of the 220 tonnes produced annually are reintroduced into manufacturing, saving approximately 4 % calcium carbonate and drastically reducing industrial waste.

Dismantlable, recyclable and high-performance composites

In the Research & Science category, the first prize went to Edag Engineering, in partnership with Invent, Fraunhofer IWU and Applus+ Rescoll, for the European project Recreate, a modular system of dismantlable composite structures. based on thermosensitive adhesives, the technology enables damage-free separation of bonded components, paving the way for reuse and single-material recycling. This Design-for-Circularity concept sets a tangible model for a truly circular composite economy.

In second place, Fraunhofer IPT presented Tape-REx, a recycling process for unidirectional (UD) thermoplastic tapes. The system “unwinds” end-of-life composites without breaking the fibres, preserving their length, orientation and matrix. The resulting recyclate remains a functional UD tape, suitable for reuse in ATL/AFP or hot-pressing processes.

Finally, the Faserinstitut Bremen (FIBRE) and the Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut (STFI) received third place for an integrated thermoforming process for hybrid organo-sheets made from recycled carbon fibres. This continuous technique combines pressing and assembly in a single step, producing closed, variable-thickness structures suited to aerospace requirements while optimising both resources and production rates.