International composites trade show JEC World 2026, taking place March 10-12 in Paris, France, has announced the official lineup of finalists for the event’s Innovation Awards. Each year, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards celebrate successful projects and cooperation between players of the composites industry. These composites champions are awarded based on multiple criteria, such as demonstrating strong partner engagement across the value chain, technical complexity and significant commercial potential.

Since its creation in 1998, the Innovation Awards have attracted more than 2,200 participating companies from around the world. A total of 269 companies and 811 associated partners have been recognized. 

After pre-selection of the 33 finalists (from 154 submitted), one winner will be selected in each of the 11 categories listed below. JEC Innovation Award winners will be revealed at the JEC World 2026 Premiere on Jan. 12 in Paris, and live online. The event will also feature event highlights and announce the 20 startups selected for the Startup Booster competition.

The international jury representing the entire composites value chain includes:

• Michel Cognet, chairman of the board, JEC
• Dr. Klaus Drechsler, professor, chair of carbon composites, Technical University of Munich
• Prof. Bronwyn Fox, deputy vice chancellor (research and enterprise), UNSW Sydney
• Dr. Robert Frassine, full professor, polymeric and composite materials, Politecnico di Milano
• Dr. Sung Kyu Ha, professor of mechanical engineering, Hanyang University 
• Prof. Dr. Patricia Krawczak, full professor, Centre for Materials & Processes, IMT Nord Europe/Institut Mines-Télécom
• Prof. Gilles Lubineau, professor of mechanical engineering and director of MCEM and ENERCOMP, Kaust
• Dr. Antonio Nanni, professor of the department of civil and architecture engineering, University of Miami
• Prof. Véronique Michaud, head of the Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
• Prof. Kiyoshi Uzawa, director of the Innovative Composite Center, Kanazawa Institute of Technology 
• Müge Yenmex, CTO and composite EMEA general manager, Kordsa.

**Editor’s note: Below are short excerpt summaries below for each finalist. For complete info, including key benefits of each technology innovation, please visit JEC’s lineup page.

High-rate composite process for airship structure

With partners, Flying Whales developed a cost-effective and high-rate process to manufacture composite beams for light airship structures. It meets stringent aeronautical certification standards while enabling efficient, repeatable and scalable production of large aerospace components.

Companies: Flying Whales (France) Exel Composites (Finland), Hexcel (France), Duqueine Group (France)

 

 

 

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Highly loaded TP wing rib

Highly loaded thermoplastic composite (TPC) wing rib for a future aircraft programs. Daher and its partners worked on an innovative design thanks to patented innovative processes to meet actual decarbonization and competitiveness challenges compared to current aluminum solutions.

Companies: Daher (France), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (Luxembourg), Victrex Plc (U.K.), Cetim (France), AniForm Engineering B.V. (The Netherlands)

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WICHITA welded thermoplastic composite fuselage

To demonstrate a high-rate manufacturing processes in anticipation of the next single-aisle composite airliner, Spirit AeroSystems has combined automated fiber placement (AFP) and several patented welding technologies to assemble stamp formed frames and stringers with a realistic skin for a fastener-free assembly.

Companies: Spirit AeroSystems (U.S.), Corebon AB (Sweden), Toray Advanced Composites (U.S.), Syensqo (Belgium)

Automated ply placement for A350 RTM preforms

Automated ply placement (APP) has been developed, qualified and implemented at Airbus to produce structural RTM carbon fiber preforms for the cut-out beams and the maintenance door frame in Section 19 of the A350 fuselage, marking the first use of this innovation at Airbus and a major step for automated production.

Companies: Airborne (The Netherlands), Airbus (Spain)

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First-time-right topology-optimized fuselage panel

The integral-stiffened fuselage panel achieves first-time-right manufacturing of topology-optimized aircraft structures at aerospace scale. Formalized manufacturing knowledge pushes AFP technology to its limits, eliminating iteration cycles and achieving 15% weight reduction.

Companies: Leibniz University Hannover (IFW, Germany), MD Aircraft GmbH (Germany), Technische Universität Braunschweig (Germany), Kasaero GmbH (Germany)

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SAUBER4.0 – Smart & sustainable RTM 4.0

SAUBER4.0 is a holistically networked manufacturing technology approach for complex large components which takes equal account of ecological and economic criteria. The key element is the use of RTM technology with the possibilities of digitization, innovative preforming and tool technologies.

Companies: CTC GmbH – An Airbus Company (Germany), Operations GmbH (Germany), Faserinstitut Bremen e.V. (Germany), DLR (Germany), Fraunhofer IFAM and IWU (Germany), Frimo Innovative Technologies GmbH (Germany), Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (Germany), KraussMaffei (Germany), NAEXT Engineering GmbH (Germany), Netzsch Process Intelligence GmbH (Germany), Testia GmbH (Germany), Siemens (Germany), Stadler + Schaaf (Germany), Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH (Germany)

BMW M natural fiber composites

The BMW Group introduces series-ready natural fiber composites from renewable flax-based raw materials. Developed through cross-industry collaboration, a new resin and prepreg system improves durability, visual quality and processing by overcoming moisture sensitivity. 

Companies: BMW Group, M GMBH (Germany), Bcomp Ltd. (Switzerland), SGL Technologies GmbH (Germany), Cobra Advanced Composites Co. Ltd. (Thailand), PPG Wörwag Coatings GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)

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Sustainable paper-based automotive composites

Volkswagon Group’s composites are made from paper fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP), combining major advantages from the plastics and paper industries. These composites are stronger, lighter and more sustainable than conventional automotive interior materials, like talc-filled PP.

Companies: Volkswagen Group of America Inc. (U.S.), University of Tennessee Knoxville (U.S.), Endeavour Composites (U.S.), Bentley Motors Ltd. (U.K.), WEAV3D Inc. (U.S.)

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Thermoplastic battery enclosure

Advanced, lightweight TPC hybrid electric vehicle (EV) battery enclosure with integrated cooling and fastening features. This innovative solution offers optimal flame retardancy, high stiffness and cost-efficient sustainability for next-generation EVs.

Companies: Engel Austria GmbH (Austria), SABIC (U.S.), Forward Engineering (Germany), Siebenwurst GmbH Co.KG (Germany)

ART high-rate fiber deposition solution

Automated rapid tape (ART) is a high-rate fiber deposition solution conceived by supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive and designed and built by composites technology expert Cygnet Texkimp to manufacture high-performance, ultra-lightweight composite parts sustainably at rate and with minimal scrap.

Companies: Cygnet Texkimp (U.K.), McLaren Automotive (U.K.)

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Carbon fiber SMC automotive control arm

Gestamp developed a carbon fiber-reinforced sheet molding compound (SMC) control arm for automotive applications. Through the combined use of high-performance materials, design innovation, functional integration and efficient processing, the control arm offers optimal structural performance at a low weight.

Companies: Gestamp Autotech Engineering Deutschland GmbH (Germany), Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (Germany), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), DG Aviation GmbH (Germany), Koller Formenbau GmbH (Germany), Toray Industries Europe GmbH (Germany), Vibracoustic SE & Co. KG (Germany)

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Plastic EV battery housing for mass production

A glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite traction battery housing was developed. Using commercially available long- and continuous-fiber semi-finished products and fewer semi-finished variants enables automated large-scale compression molding. Life cycle emissions are ≈25% lower than aluminum die-cast.

Companies: University of Technology Chemnitz (Germany), Mahle Filtersysteme GmbH (Germany), Formenbau GF GmbH (Germany), In2p GmbH (Germany), Gerlinger Industries GmbH (Germany), Wickert Maschinenbau GmbH (Germany), Fraunhofer ICT (Germany)

Circular recycling of thermoset liftgates

IDI Composites International Europe’s innovation is the circular recycling of SMC parts at a pre-serial production level (TRL 7) with a minimum of 20% and an average of 25% mechanically recycled composite content.

Companies: IDI Composites International (France), Flex-N-Gate (France)

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Recovery and reintroduction of carbon fiber

The main innovation of the project “Recovery and Reintroduction of Carbon Fiber” by Angeloni Group and its partners Sparco, Herambiente and Carbon Task consists of developing a completely circular industrial model for the recovery and reintroduction of carbon fiber composites from the production waste from the OEMs.

Companies: Angeloni Group (Italy), Sparco (Italy), Herambiente (Italy), Carbon Task (Italy)

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Recycling A380 secondary structures for A320 Neo

Airbus, Daher, Toray and Tarmac Aerosave are collaborating to demonstrate the reuse of end-of-life A380 pylon covers made of Cetex TC1100, repurposing them into new structural parts. The initiative supports sustainability by reusing materials from one aircraft component to another.

Companies: Toray Advanced Composites (The Netherlands), Airbus (France), Daher (France), Tarmac Aerosave (France)

Composite outlet guide vane by AFP and RTM

The CAELESTIS fan outlet guide vane (OGV) has been manufactured using AFP for the dry carbon fiber preform and RTM for the injection of the aeronautic-grade epoxy. During both processes, quality control was integrated to avoid defects generation.

Companies: Aimen Technology Centre (Spain), RTDS Group (Austria), IRT Jules Verne (France), eBOS (Cyprus), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Spain), GKN Aerospace (Sweden), AMADe - Universitat de Girona (Spain), Instituto Tecnológico de Aragón (Spain), Addcomposites Oy (Finland), Technical University of DelftGKN (Netherlands), ESI Group | Keysight (France)

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CompositesAI

CompositesAI is an AI-powered expert system that consolidates certified composites knowledge and simulation tools via LLMs, combining the authority of leading experts with the precision of simulation software, and enabling domain experts to build custom AI agents without needing AI expertise.

Companies: Purdue University (U.S.), AnalySwift LLC (U.S.), Applied Research Institute Inc. (U.S.), IACMI (U.S.)

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Digital thread innovation for aerospace & defense

A full end-to-end digital thread of composite aerospace structures to accelerate and improve repair (and manufacturing), providing a continuous connection of data from inspection, through design, manufacturing, scarfing, patch application and finally quality checks prior to entry back into service.

Companies: The University of Southern Queensland (Australia), Memko (Australia), Dassault Systèmes (Australia), Boeing Australia (Australia)

Carbo-link spars – Mast ventilation system

A world-first carbon fiber mast integrates natural stack ventilation to reduce yacht energy consumption. Using solar heating and airflow physics, the mast becomes an active ventilation system, lowering reliance on mechanical air conditioning in the yacht, while maintaining the complete structural integrity of the mast.

Companies: Carbo-link AG (Switzerland), Foundation? (The Netherlands)

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Composite T-boom for Ampelmann Offshore Gangway

The composite telescoping boom is the offshore access industry’s first composite gangway component, reducing mass by 30% and lowering system energy use by up to 7%. As a key part of Ampelmann’s motion-compensated gangway, it enables safe, reliable transfer of personnel and cargo offshore.

Companies: Ampelmann Operations (The Netherlands), Solico Engineering B.V. (The Netherlands), Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam B.V. (The Netherlands), Rondal B.V. (The Netherlands), Gurit AG (Switzerland), Lloyd’s Register Maritiem Nederland B.V. (The Netherlands), Sinteg Systems (The Netherlands)

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Co-Propel – How to minimize fuel consumption

Major innovations of CoPropel were linked to hydrodynamic and mechanical coupling to optimizer pitch under several conditions at low computation cost, embedding SHM system in a rotating part and building a net-shape RTM component with impact protection at leading and trailing edges.

Companies: Loiretech Ingénierie (France), University of Ioannina (Greece), Danaos Systems (Cyprus), Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (France), MECA (France), BHSC (Bulgaria), Glafcos Marine (Greece), TWI (U.K.), Brunel University London (U.K.)

LeiWaCo – Lightweight tank for liquid hydrogen

A composite LH2 tank solution that eliminates cryogenic microcracking using a synergistic combination of tailored thermoplastic matrix laminates, design solutions and manufacturing processes. Validated by a functional subscale demonstrator.

Companies: CTC GmbH – An Airbus Company (Germany), AFPT GmbH (Germany), Argo-Anleg GmbH (Germany), CompriseTec GmbH (Germany), The German Aerospace Center (DLR) (Germany), E-Cap Marine GmbH (Germany), Faserinstitut Bremen e.V. (Germany), IDVA GmbH (Germany), Institute of Polymer Engineering of the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (Switzerland), Schunk Kohlenstofftechnik GmbH (Germany), Suprem SA (Switzerland), Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH (Germany)

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Making the next generation of RTR joints a reality

Utilization of “welding” to join thermoset composite pipes. Modification of a traditional metallic welding technique to coat each thermoset composite part with a layer of thermoplastic polymer allowing these two polymer-coated parts to be joined using a conventional polymer welding approach.

Companies: TWI Ltd. (U.K.), Aramco (Saudi Arabia), Future Pipe Ltd. (U.K.)

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Thermoplastic Type 5 tank for high pressure

Gas tanks today are Types 1-4: steel or thermoplastic liners wrapped with fiber and thermoset. Each type has clear drawbacks. The industry now awaits the true Type 5, fully thermoplastic tanks without liner and designed to eliminate all limitations of previous generations.

Companies: Covess (Belgium), Air Liquide (France), Arkema (France)

Composite twin-track cantilever

The prototype composite twin-track cantilever (CTTC) engineered and manufactured by Composite Braiding Ltd. (CBL) not only demonstrates the viability of using sustainable composite materials in the production of high-volume railway infrastructure but shows clear environmental and economic benefits.

Companies: Composite Braiding Ltd (U.K.), Amey UK Ltd. (U.K.), Connected Places Catapult (U.K.), BCIMO (U.K.)

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EcoTrain self-supporting composite cab body

A 100% composite, eco-designed, self-supporting cab body. By combining flax fiber with high-performance materials, its ultra-lightweight and durable structure drastically reduces the weight, energy consumption and carbon footprint of passenger rail transport.

Companies: Stratiforme Industries (France), EcoTrain SAS (France)

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Simple and triangular connecting rods for trains

Connecting rods for high-speed trains, made from three fiber-reinforced thermoset composites (ACG), are replacing the current metal parts.

Companies: G12 Innovation (Brazil), Patentes Talgo (Spain)

Composite PV module for vehicles

Lightweight, highly transparent and impact-resistant composite PV modules combining glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) front sheets and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sandwich back sheets, achieving >50% weight reduction, optimal light transmittance and flexibility for curved vehicle surface integration.

Companies: Metyx (Türkiye), Itech Solar (Türkiye), Center for Solar Energy Research and Applications of Middle East Technical University (Türkiye)

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Faster and reliable wind turbine blade production

A sensorized mold for a 100-plus-meter-long offshore wind blade that can follow and control the molding process in an optimal and automated way. Sensors embedded in the mold can check the resin flow while accurate online estimation of viscosity and glass transition temperature, reducing cycle time and energy, ensuring quality.

Companies: Synthesites (Greece), Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy – SGRE (Denmark)

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FOCUS deployment

Fastener-Free Optimized Composites for Utility-Scale Solar (FOCUS) deployment revolutionizes solar mounting by replacing metal frames with advanced, fastener-free composite profiles produced through a proprietary 3D pultrusion process. This innovation delivers lighter, stronger, modular structures that enable rapid, robot-assisted installation while boosting durability and storm resistance.

Companies: CSSI New Composite Products Development (U.S.), USC - McGill Composites Center (U.S.), Alpha Star (U.S.), AEP - American Electric Power (U.S.), Saint-Gobain Group – Vetrotex (U.S.)

Head’s racquets go circular with Toray’s CFRP

Head Sports continues to innovate with the launch of the Boom Raw and the Boom Neon tennis racquets adopting Toray’s new bio-circular carbon fibers. This new range is an encouraging development in the search for a more environmentally responsible future for racquet sports.

Companies: Toray Carbon Fibers Europe (France), Head Sports GmbH (Austria), Delta Preg S.p.A. (Italy)

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Lifecycle: A repairable road bike

The innovation is a bike frame made of thermoplastic CFRP profiles and titanium lugs. It is joined by induction without additional adhesives or fastener elements. Through the reversibility of the process defective components can be removed and replaced in order to maximize the frame’s life cycle.

Companies: Fenix composites (Germany), Alformet GmbH (Germany), herone GmbH (Germany), hyJOIN GmbH (Germany)

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Modular synthetic track for sustainable sport

X-Track is a modular synthetic track for electric motocross, BMX and mountain biking, using biocomposite materials and adaptive molding. The project also explores panel recyclability for cradle-to-cradle design, enabling sustainable, low-impact and locally sourced production.

Companies: Bespline (Canada), Gurit (Canada), X-Track (Canada), Arkema (France), Red Bull (Austria), The Quebec Composite Development Center – CDCQ (Canada).