Eco-surfboard specialist Notox will use Sicomin’s GreenPoxy 56 resin in its latest line of R-Carbon boards – the first to use 100% upcycled carbon fibre fabrics recovered from a production waste stream at Airbus.

Notox, founded in 2006 and based in Basque, France, has partnered with Sicomin to use GreenPoxy bio-resins in several earlier flax, cork, and bamboo reinforced boards. In a quest to now produce the most sustainable carbon fibre reinforced boards possible, it has signed a formal agreement with Airbus Nantes to purchase defective carbon fabrics that were destined for landfill.

The new Notox technology gives a second life to Airbus carbon fabrics that are declared unusable for aerospace applications due to short roll lengths, an inability to be pre-formed, or other defects.  The upcycled materials are combined with Sicomin’s GreenPoxy 56 and Surf Clear hardener, producing an extremely clear, high gloss laminate with high mechanical properties. Notox uses a precisely controlled wet lamination process with vacuum bag consolidation to wet out the woven carbon fabrics and minimise resin consumption in the manufacturing process.

In addition to selecting a high bio-content resin – GreenPoxy 56 derives 56% of its carbon content from plant sources – Notox has also sourced the most sustainable carbon fibre fabrics. Full life cycle analysis by Notox has shown that using waste carbon fabrics from Airbus is significantly more energy efficient than using other recycled short fibre carbon, confirming the importance of upcycling this key raw material.

“At Notox our mission is to produce the most ethical and sustainable boards,” said president Pierre Pomiers. “Providing great mechanical performance, a high plant-based carbon content, and a low carbon footprint due to local manufacturing, GreenPoxy 56 is a good solution for our new R-Carbon technology.”

The performance and durability of the new R-Carbon boards has recently been proven on the water, with pro surfer Clément Roseyro giving the prototypes a shake down during a big wave session at Avalanche on the Basque Coast. The new R-Carbon construction is available for the entire range of Notox surfboards and as an option for the company’s foil, rescue and SUP boards.

www.notoxsurf.com