Japan's Fujitsu & Teijin to use recycled carbon fibre in bicycles

As part of the trials, Teijin and Fujitsu will leverage a blockchain-based commercial platform launched in July 2022 to promote the sustainable use of recycled materials, tracing and management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the environmentally-conscious bicycle industry, Fujitsu said in a press release.

By implementing a business model that maximises the environmental value from recycled materials, Teijin and Fujitsu aim to contribute to the further development of the carbon fibre recycling market and the realisation of a circular economy. Following the successful conclusion of the joint trials, Teijin and Fujitsu will promote the implementation of the new platform, with the aim of commercialisation in fiscal 2023.

In Europe, many bicycle manufacturers use frames manufactured in Asia, and many of these frames are also ultimately disposed of in landfills in Asia. Energy consumption during long-distance transportation of resources including materials and used frames across the supply chain represents one major reason why resources are often not recycled and disposed of in a sustainable manner. In order to contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions from its business operations, V Frames utilises local resources in Germany and recycles used frames in its bicycle production.

Within this joint project, Teijin and Fujitsu will conduct trials together with V Frames and Advanced Bikes to visualise the results of V Frames’ efforts to reduce GHG emissions in its production process, with the aim to foster a shared awareness towards the environmental value of recycled materials within the environmentally-conscious bicycle industry and industries handling carbon fibres.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)