CARBIOS Accelerates A Circular Economy For Plastic And Textiles As It Celebrates A World First With The Groundbreaking Of Its PET Biorecycling Plant
Image By Courtesy of CARBIOS
Longlaville (France), April 2024 (19:30 CET). CARBIOS (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB), a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles, today celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony for the world's first PET biorecycling plant in the presence of representatives of local authorities, partner brands and industrial partners who all make up CARBIOS’ ecosystem.
Located in Longlaville, in the Grand-Est region of France, CARBIOS' first commercial plant will play a key role in the fight against plastic pollution, offering an industrial-scale solution for the enzymatic depolymerization of PET waste in order to accelerate a circular economy for plastic and textiles.
The plant will have a processing capacity of 50kt/year of prepared waste when operating at full capacity. Work is progressing on schedule with significant quantities delivered to customers in 2026.
PET, the second most widely used plastic in the world, is mainly manufactured from oil. Thanks to CARBIOS’ enzymatic biorecycling technology, PET will no longer be made from oil, but from its own waste.
This technological breakthrough opens up new recycling streams for multilayered, coloured and opaque trays made from packaging waste and polyester textile waste, which until now have been little or not recycled at all, giving them value. In addition, this breakthrough positions France as a pioneer in green innovation, contributing to its reindustrialisation and leadership in the transition to a sustainable economy.
Emmanuel Macron, President of France : At a time when governments are negotiating an international treaty against plastic pollution in Ottowa, the groundbreaking of CARBIOS’ biorecycling plant is particularly significant. It illustrates France's commitment to the ecological transition, and demonstrates our ability to turn challenges into opportunities for a more sustainable future. This plant, a world first, embodies French innovation in responding to complex environmental challenges, offering a sustainable solution for a future where plastic and textile waste will be transformed into valuable resources for a truly circular economy.
Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of CARBIOS : We can help save the planet thanks to science, passionate teams, private and public funding to meet industrial and commercial stakes, and loyal partners. This groundbreaking ceremony for the Longlaville plant marks the start of our industrial and commercial roll-out to make CARBIOS a world leader in plastic recycling in the coming years.
The World's First PET Biorecycling Plant
CARBIOS' technology enables PET circularity and provides an alternative raw material to fossil-based monomers, giving PET producers, waste management companies, public bodies and brands an effective solution to meet regulatory requirements and their own commitments to sustainable development.
The plant will have the capacity to process 50,000 tons of prepared PET waste per year (equivalent to 2 billion colored bottles, 2.5 billion food trays or 300 million T-shirts).
The plant will create 150 direct and indirect jobs in the region. In October 2023, CARBIOS obtained the building and operating permits for the site.
The factory is currently under construction on land officially acquired from Indorama Ventures on 14 February 2024.
In February 2024, CARBIOS and De Smet Engineers & Contractors (DSEC) announced their collaboration to manage construction.
Several feedstock supply agreements, notably with CITEO and Landbell Group, will secure the vast majority of the raw materials required. Close to the borders with Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, the plant's location is strategic for access to nearby waste supplies
About CARBIOS
CARBIOS is a biotech company developing and industrializing biological solutions to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles.
Inspired by nature, CARBIOS develops enzyme-based processes to break down plastic with a mission to avoid plastic and textile pollution, and accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
Its two disruptive technologies for the biorecycling of PET and the biodegradation of PLA are reaching industrial and commercial scale.
Its biorecycling demonstration plant has been operational since 2021 and a first industrial plant, in partnership with Indorama Ventures, is currently under construction.
