Nearly 20 million tons of polymer composite materials are produced around the world every year, and the market is growing by some 5% annually. That's according to JEC, an international composites-industry organization, which puts the rapid growth down to these materials' high performance, light weight and ease of use. This ideal combination of properties means the composites have been widely adopted in a range of industries, from aerospace and automotive to sporting equipment and wind power. But their popularity means manufacturers are having to quickly implement solutions to minimize the composites' environmental impact, as they are currently difficult to recycle. That's where CompPair's revolutionary technology comes in. Its self-healing composites, which can repair themselves in just a few minutes, can lengthen a product's lifespan considerably. Studies have shown that the same sample of a CompPair composite can repair itself up to 60 times without any change to its properties. The firm recently raised just under CHF 1 million in its first fundraising round—a milestone that will allow the young business to hire more staff, expand its premises, and ramp up its production capacity in order to support its market penetration.