Iacono claims Hella Group owns over 100 advanced factories and five under construction facilities to strengthen its position in the European materials processing and recycling sector. "Our business plan confirms this strategy, 20 billion euros of investment will be made over the 2024-2028 period to create value for all stakeholders."

Herambiente is a subsidiary of the Italian company Group S.p.A. Herambiente is a waste collection and processing operating company, with years of experience in carbon fiber recycling.

Subsequently, Herambiente collaborated with the Department of Industrial Chemistry of the University of Bologna and its technical partner Curti Costruzioni Meccaniche (Ravenna, Italy), a company specialized in the production of automated machinery for industrial applications, which provided its expertise and testing equipment to simulate the formulations being studied.

Hera Group, through its expertise in engineering and waste management, developed this project and built the FIB 3R factory.

FIB 3R heat gasification process

According to HERA Group, the "rebirth" of carbon fiber takes place within a 60-meter-long tunnel. In the first stage of thermolysis – pyrolysis – the carbon fibers are released from the resin. The second stage is gasification, which ultimately forms the regenerated fiber.

The resin decomposed in a gaseous form is reused, generating part of the energy required for the process, thus maximizing energy recovery. The dust remaining in the fibers is vacuumed and sent to the dust removal system. The Hera Group claims that the resulting product after treatment is high-purity carbon fiber, "with all mechanical properties intact."

Due to the high temperatures required and the use of fossil fuels, the typical production of virgin fibers is very energy-intensive. However, life cycle analysis shows that the energy demand for producing rCF is reduced by 75% and avoids 74% of greenhouse gas emissions.

FIB3R also relies on comprehensive traceability of processed materials. In fact, when carbon fiber waste enters the factory, it is contained in bins marked with QR codes, which include the identity of the carbon fiber waste along with information such as technical characteristics, weight, and origin. After processing, these tracked materials will be returned to their owners in the form of rCF, thus creating a closed loop that maximizes sustainability, transparency, and quality.