Bristol-based Uplift360, a complicated supplies startup innovating how aerospace, defence and industrial sectors get better and reuse high-value composite waste, introduced at present the profitable shut of its €7.4 million Seed funding spherical.
The spherical was led by Extantia, with important contributions from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Promus Ventures and Fund F.
Sam Staincliffe, CEO and co-founder of Uplift360, stated: “This funding is a transparent sign that Europe intends to guide in sustainable advanced-materials manufacturing. Our expertise turns what’s at present burned, buried or exported right into a dependable, high-quality feedstock stream, strengthening supply-chains for primes, OEMs and authorities prospects. With Extantia and the NATO Innovation Fund behind us, we’re now positioned to scale with urgency.”
Uplift360’s Seed spherical may be located inside a wider circulate of capital into round and advanced-materials innovation.
In France, climate-focused investor SlateVC introduced a €132 million first shut for its inaugural progress fund in 2026, with a mandate spanning low-carbon industrial processes and supplies.
Germany has seen a number of adjoining investments, together with aevoloop, which raised round €8 million in 2025 to scale chemically recyclable and biodegradable plastics, and Cologne-based METYCLE, which secured €14 million to increase its AI-driven steel recycling platform.
Within the Baltics, Estonia’s Jälle Technologies raised €2 million pre-Seed to get better high-value carbon supplies from end-of-life batteries, whereas on the ecosystem degree France-based makesense launched a €15 million Seed fund devoted to round and inclusive ventures throughout Europe.
Taken collectively, these bulletins level to roughly €170 million or extra in disclosed funding and fund capital shifting by means of European circular-materials and industrial recycling segments over the previous two years.
Inside this context, Uplift360’s Seed spherical represents a UK-based contribution to the identical development, aligning composite regeneration and supply-chain resilience with a broader European push to retain strategic supplies in use moderately than down-cycling or exporting them as waste.
Joern-Carlos Kuntze, Companion at Extantia, stated: “Excessive-performance composites underpin strategic sectors important to Europe’s reindustrialisation, but stay notoriously troublesome to recycle. Uplift360 is altering that: reworking 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 staff as they construct the round spine of the composites business.
Based in 2021, Uplift360 is creating chemical regeneration applied sciences for important industrial supplies comparable to carbon fibre and aramid. Their imaginative and prescient is to prepared the ground in round financial system innovation, making a future the place superior supplies are by no means wasted.
Superior supplies like carbon fibre and aramids underpin defence, aerospace and manufacturing and are important to Europe’s capability to revitalise industrial capabilities extra broadly. Nevertheless, Uplift360 explains that these supplies at present face extreme supply-chain bottlenecks on account of geopolitical stress and restricted virgin fibre availability and, as they’re constructed to final, contribute to a fast-growing world waste stream.
Uplift360 goals to handle this problem by means of its proprietary expertise, a chemical course of that recovers superior composite supplies, leading to the identical high quality output as inputted.
Not like recycling, Uplift360’s regeneration course of is non-degenerative, giving them a real second life.
Sander Verbrugge, Companion on the NATO Innovation Fund, says: “Sturdy, high-quality superior supplies are of strategic significance to securing the way forward for NATO nations. Uplift360’s platform is strictly the type of dual-use innovation Europe wants – tackling an actual supply-chain vulnerability, lowering carbon emissions and bolstering the resilience of the sectors that underpin European industrialisation and competitiveness.”
At this time’s Seed funding will scale Uplift360’s proprietary applied sciences, enabling the regeneration of hard-to-treat superior composite supplies comparable to carbon fibre, aramid (e.g., Kevlar) and hybrid laminates from aerospace, defence, wind power and high-performance automotive sectors
This financing allows Uplift360 to:
- Fee its first pilot-scale processing line within the UK in 2026 to allow greater volumes, real-world validation, and buyer integration
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Increase partnerships with main aerospace, defence, automotive and power OEMs
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Improve R&D into regenerated-fibre efficiency enhancement and new purposes
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Construct a distributed, scalable mannequin for composite circularity throughout Europe
Carina Roth, Funding Supervisor at Fund F, provides: “Uplift360 stands out on account of Sam and Jamie’s distinctive synergy, deep business experience and drive to create an affect. Their staff completely bridges DeepTech innovation with the operational maturity wanted to scale, positioning them uniquely to show composite waste right into a sovereign industrial energy.”
Uplift360 already works with industrial companions comparable to Babcock on Eurofighter Hurricane end-of-life supplies restoration, Leonardo on turning Merlin helicopter blades into UxV elements, and a undertaking with Rolls-Royce.
As a part of Europe’s rising ecosystem of dual-use and strategic-materials innovators with a powerful presence in each the UK and Luxembourg, Uplift360 is well-positioned to safe and strengthen provide chains throughout Europe.
