NATO fund joins €7.4M for Bristol-based Uplift360, recycling Typhoon parts for drones — TFN

Uplift360 has raised an oversubscribed €7.4M seed spherical to speed up the regeneration of high-value composite supplies throughout Europe. The spherical was led by Extantia with sturdy participation from the NATO Innovation Fund, Promus Ventures, and Fund F. 

The capital will fund Uplift360’s first pilot-scale manufacturing line within the UK, scheduled for 2026, enabling high-volume processing and real-world validation with world aerospace, defence, power, and automotive prospects. It additionally strengthens collaboration with established companions, together with Rolls-Royce, Babcock, and Leonardo, whereas increasing R&D into new functions and efficiency enhancements. The corporate goals to construct a scalable mannequin for composite circularity throughout Europe, making certain safe provide chains at a time of mounting geopolitical pressures.

Europe’s composite disaster

Superior composites, corresponding to carbon fibre, aramids, and hybrid laminates, are the spine of recent aerospace, defence techniques, wind generators, and efficiency automobiles. But Europe discards these supplies at end-of-life by burning or burying them, regardless of dealing with acute shortages of virgin fibres. These shortages stem from geopolitical constraints, restricted manufacturing capability, and hovering demand throughout industrial sectors.

To make issues worse, these supplies are engineered for sturdiness, making them exceptionally troublesome to deal with or recuperate. Consequently, Europe is concurrently operating out of crucial inputs whereas producing a quickly rising waste stream of the very substances it wants most. The area has lacked a viable round answer that returns fibres to unique efficiency requirements till now.

The group behind the mission

UK/Luxembourg-based Uplift360 was co-founded in 2021 by Sam Staincliffe and Jamie Meighan. It’s targeted on recycling superior supplies like physique armour (Kevlar) and carbon fibre for a round economic system. Each founders have intensive backgrounds in defence and humanitarian operations.

Uplift360 emerges from Europe’s deep-tech and dual-use innovation ecosystem, with sturdy backing from the UK’s Defence and Safety Accelerator, Luxembourg’s Directorate of Defence and Innovate UK. Their partnerships with names corresponding to Babcock and Leonardo mirror early belief in each the group’s experience and the know-how’s readiness for demanding environments like aerospace and defence.

The corporate has additionally been recognised as considered one of Tech Nation’s Prime 25 Local weather Tech Firms to Watch in 2026, underscoring its position in shaping the following wave of circular-materials innovation. Working between the UK and Luxembourg, the founders convey a imaginative and prescient centred on fixing a structural industrial problem fairly than providing incremental recycling enhancements.

Turning waste into virgin-quality supplies

On the core of Uplift360’s work is a proprietary chemical regeneration course of that restores composite supplies, carbon fibre, Kevlar-class aramids, and hybrid laminates to unique efficiency high quality. In contrast to conventional recycling, which degrades energy and limits functions, the corporate’s non-degenerative course of produces output that matches virgin fibre requirements. This enables regenerated supplies to re-enter high-performance provide chains with out compromise.

The know-how has already been examined in demanding use instances. Uplift360 and Babcock are recovering supplies from Eurofighter Storm components. With Leonardo, they’re changing Merlin helicopter blades into elements for uncrewed techniques. A challenge with Rolls-Royce additional demonstrates the know-how’s relevance to next-generation aerospace manufacturing. The twin-use nature of the platform means the identical regeneration methodology serves defence, industrial aviation, wind power, and high-performance automotive sectors.

Why does this matter?

Europe’s race to safe crucial supplies is intensifying, and Uplift360 provides a sensible path to resilience. Their method addresses provide shortages, reduces reliance on geopolitically delicate virgin fibre sources, and cuts emissions by remodeling waste right into a helpful useful resource.

This seed spherical positions Uplift360 to scale a know-how that helps each strategic autonomy and industrial decarbonisation, two priorities that Europe can now not afford to deal with individually.

Sam Staincliffe, CEO & Co-Founding father of Uplift360, mentioned: “This funding is a transparent sign that Europe intends to guide in sustainable advanced-materials manufacturing. Our know-how turns what’s presently burned, buried or exported right into a dependable, high-quality feedstock stream, strengthening provide chains for primes, OEMs, and authorities prospects. With Extantia and the NATO Innovation Fund behind us, we’re now positioned to scale with urgency.”

Joern-Carlos Kuntze, Accomplice at Extantia, mentioned: “Excessive-performance composites underpin strategic sectors crucial to Europe’s reindustrialisation, but stay notoriously troublesome to recycle. Uplift360 is altering that: remodeling end-of-life supplies into high-quality feedstock whereas constructing resilient round provide chains within the course of. We’re proud to again Sam, Jamie, and the group as they construct the round spine of the composites business.”

Sander Verbrugge, Accomplice on the NATO Innovation Fund, mentioned: “Sturdy, high-quality superior supplies are of strategic significance to securing the way forward for NATO nations. Uplift360’s platform is strictly the form of dual-use innovation Europe wants — tackling an actual supply-chain vulnerability, decreasing carbon emissions and bolstering the resilience of the sectors that underpin European industrialisation and competitiveness.”

Carina Roth, Funding Supervisor at Fund F, mentioned: “Uplift360 stands out resulting from Sam and Jamie’s distinctive synergy, deep business experience, and drive to create an impression. Their group completely bridges deep-tech innovation with the operational maturity wanted to scale, positioning them uniquely to show composite waste right into a sovereign industrial energy.”