Leonardo and Uplift360’s partnership turns waste into flight

Cleantech start-up Uplift360 and leading aerospace company Leonardo have successfully transformed an end-of-life helicopter rotor blade into a prototype drone arm, marking a significant advance in critical materials recovery for Defence and Aerospace.

Using its proprietary low-temperature chemical recycling process, ChemR, Uplift360 extracted high-quality, reusable carbon fibre from a rotor blade taken from a EH101, the forerunner of the AW101. once destined for incineration or landfill, the reclaimed fibres were repurposed into a structural component — proving the performance and potential of chemically recycled aerospace-grade composites.

The project began under an R&D contract with Leonardo in May 2025 and focused on testing ChemR’s ability to process complex composite waste. Uplift360 exceeded the brief — not only recovering the material but also validating its use in manufacturing, showing how end-of-life components can re-enter the value chain.

This collaboration directly supports the UK’s Strategic Defence Review focus on strengthening supply chain resilience. Carbon fibre is critical to aerospace and military systems, yet the UK lacks sufficient recovery infrastructure. ChemR helps close that gap — turning waste into a secure, domestic resource.
Sam Staincliffe, co-founder and CEO of Uplift360, said, “At Uplift360, we believe advanced materials should never go to waste. This project with Leonardo shows how ChemR can turn what was once unrecyclable into mission-ready material – supporting a more resilient and sovereign Defence supply chain.”

Clive Higgins, UK Chair and CEO of Leonardo, said, “Material recirculation is a key component of our Leonardo Sustainability Plan, helping us to reduce our waste and reuse materials where possible, ultimately building resilience in our supply chains. Collaborating with innovators such as Uplift360, we can demonstrate how sustainability not only creates positive environmental and social impacts but delivers business and economic benefits.”

about Uplift360
Uplift360 is a cleantech company developing chemical recycling technologies for critical industrial materials. Uplift360 is supported by the UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), the Green Future Investments Ltd Technology Accelerator Fund and is a partner in the EDA-selected REGEN consortium on sustainable defence materials.

about Leonardo
Leonardo is an international industrial group, among the main global companies in aerospace, defence, and security (AD&S). With 60,000 employees worldwide, the company approaches global security through the helicopters, electronics, aeronautics, cyber & security and space sectors and is a partner on the most important international programmes such as Eurofighter, JSF, NH-90, FREMM, GCAP and Eurodrone.