10179261SLATE-COMPOSITES: Transforming Slate Waste into Sustainable Fibre Reinforcements for the Circular EconomyClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKThe SLATE-COMPOSITES project will explore how waste from the Welsh slate industry can be transformed into sustainable fibres for use in composite materials. The project aims to create a circular, low-carbon alternative to conventional glass and basalt fibres, which are widely used in construction, automotive, and infrastructure products but are energy-intensive to manufacture and usually imported from overseas. Led by Pant Du Cyf, in partnership with Glass Technology Services (GTS) and the National Composites Centre (NCC), this short feasibility project will demonstrate the technical and environmental potential of slate-derived fibres. Using slate waste sourced from North Wales quarries, GTS will process the material and produce small-scale fibre samples through controlled melting and drawing trials. The NCC will then test these fibres for strength, stiffness, and structural integrity, comparing them with existing commercial materials to assess performance and identify opportunities for improvement. If successful, the work will show that slate waste can be repurposed into a valuable reinforcement material, reducing the need for virgin resources and cutting the embodied carbon of composite manufacturing. This approach supports the UK's transition to net-zero and resource-efficient manufacturing, while also creating new uses for an abundant, underutilised material with deep cultural and economic roots in Wales. We are hopefull that slate " the new - old material " will be the material of the future. The UK Goverment are seeking materials solutions that will reduce the relaience on scarce and foreign materials. The results of the SLATE-COMPOSITES project will generate the first mechanical and microstructural data on slate-based fibres and outline a roadmap for future research and scale-up. In the longer term, this innovation could open new commercial opportunities for sustainable composite materials made from UK resources, strengthening domestic supply chains and supporting regional economic growth. The project contributes directly to Innovate UK's vision for Circular Materials and Manufacturing, demonstrating how resource efficiency, waste reduction, and technological innovation can come together to make UK materials manufacturing more resilient, sustainable, and globally competitive. By combining scientific expertise with industrial collaboration, SLATE-COMPOSITES aims to prove that slate waste can play a modern role in advanced materials --- turning a traditional by-product of the Welsh landscape into a cornerstone of future sustainable manufacturing.