Carbios and Indorama Ventures reaffirm partnership to build first-of-a-kind PET biorecycling plant in France

Carbios and Indorama Ventures reaffirm partnership to build first-of-a-kind PET biorecycling plant in France

Clermont-Ferrand, France, and Bangkok, Thailand – 1 June 2023 (18:30 CET) – Carbios (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB), a biotech company developing and industrializing biological solutions to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles, and Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) (Bloomberg ticker IVL.TB), a global sustainable chemical producer, announce today the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a Joint Venture for the construction of the world’s first PET biorecycling plant in France^[1].  

Based on and subject to the comprehensive terms set out in the MOU, Indorama Ventures plans to mobilize about €110 million for the Joint Venture in equity and non-convertible loan financing^[2], pending final engineering documentation and final economic feasibility studies. Both parties have acknowledged their mutual support for the implementation of the project and their intent to finalize contract documentation before end 2023.

Subject to the successful performance of this first plant in France, Indorama Ventures confirms its intention to potentially expand the technology to other PET sites for future developments.

Under the agreement signed today, Carbios, which filed for plant permitting in December 2022, should acquire 13ha land from Indorama Ventures’ existing PET plant at Longlaville and expects to be granted permits by Q3 2023, allowing start of construction by end of 2023 and targeted commissioning in 2025.  The land surface offers the possibility to double capacity. Pursuant to this MOU, Indorama Ventures shall ensure 100% of output repolymerization and both partners shall collaborate to secure feedstock supply.

The total capital investment for the new plant is re-estimated to be around €230 million, taking into account recent impact from inflation. Project costs shall be financed by the sums mobilized by Indorama Ventures, the French State and Grand-Est Region subsidies available for the project^[3], and by equity capitalization of the Joint Venture by Carbios. Part of Carbios’ equity injection into the Joint Venture shall be financed by a portion of Carbios’ current cash position (i.e. €86 million as of 30 April 2023). Carbios is actively examining the best options to finance its remaining equity injection into the Joint Venture and will choose the most appropriate solution and timeline based on market conditions.

The project is part of Indorama Ventures’ Vision 2030 ambition to build on its leadership as a global sustainable chemical company. The company’s ESG commitments include spending $1.5 billion to increase its recycling capacity to 50 billion PET bottles per year by 2025 and 100 billion bottles per year by 2030. To meet these goals, Indorama Ventures, the world’s largest producer of recycled PET resin used in beverage bottles, is investing in new recycling technologies, including advanced recycling, in addition to expanding its global footprint of mechanical recycling sites, including two in France.

Carbios has developed a disruptive enzymatic depolymerization technology that enables efficient and solvent-free recycling of PET plastic and textile waste into virgin-like products with an aim to achieve true circularity. Carbios has ambitious plans to become a leading technology provider in advanced recycling of PET by 2035. After successful ongoing operations in its demonstration plant in Clermont-Ferrand in France, Carbios has been collaborating with Indorama Ventures for over a year to assess the commercial and technical feasibility of the technology. The world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant at Longlaville will have a capacity to process about 50,000 tons of post-consumer PET waste per year, including waste that is not recyclable mechanically, equivalent to 2 billion PET colored bottles or 2.5 billion PET trays.

Yash Lohia, Chairman of the ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said: “We are encouraged by the positive results of the due diligence our teams have performed so far on the technical soundness of Carbios’ technology. We are confident that this groundbreaking development could be a valuable addition to the range of solutions for the circular economy of PET plastics and fibers. Subject to the successful performance of the Longlaville Project, we are considering expanding Carbios’ technology at other sites worldwide for future development.”

Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of Carbios, said: “Today’s announcement is a significant landmark in our partnership with Indorama Ventures and a major step forward in realizing our joint first-of-a-kind PET biorecycling plant. The technical due diligence jointly undertaken with Indorama proves the robustness of Carbios’ disruptive technology.  At Carbios, we are committed to bringing plastic and textiles into the circular economy. Our first reference unit at Longlaville is a springboard for our industrial and commercial deployment worldwide in order to reach our leadership goals in advanced recycling of PET.”

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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-of-a-kind reference unit, in partnership with Indorama Ventures, is due to be commissioned in 2025.  Carbios has received scientific recognition, notably with the cover of Nature, and is supported by prestigious brands in the cosmetics, Food & Beverage and apparel industries to enhance their products’ recyclability and circularity. Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe are members of a packaging consortium founded by Carbios and L’Oréal, Patagonia, PUMA, PVH Corp. and Salomon collaborate with Carbios in a textile consortium.

Visit www.carbios.com/en to find out more about biotechnology powering plastic and textile circularity.

Twitter: Carbios / LinkedIn: Carbios / Instagram: insidecarbios

 Information on Carbios shares:

ISIN Code: FR0011648716
Ticker Code: Euronext Growth: ALCRB
LEI: 969500M2RCIWO4NO5F08

Carbios, founded in 2011 by Truffle Capital, is eligible for the PEA-PME, a government program allowing French residents investing in SMEs to benefit from income tax rebates.

About Indorama Ventures

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand (Bloomberg ticker IVL.TB), is one of the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Europe, Africa, Americas, and Asia Pacific. The company’s portfolio comprises Combined PET, Integrated Oxides and Derivatives, and Fibers. Indorama Ventures products serve major FMCG and automotive sectors, i.e., beverages, hygiene, personal care, tire and safety segments. Indorama Ventures has about 26,000 employees worldwide and revenue of US$18.7 billion in 2022. The Company is listed in the Dow Jones Emerging Markets and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

Contacts: Carbios

Contacts: Indorama Ventures

Stuart Kelly           Thanasak Phakdee

Tel: +66 2 661 6661 ext. 508          Tel: +662 661 6661 ext. 678

stuart.k@indorama.net      thanasak.p@indorama.net

Disclaimer on forward-looking statements and risk factors: 

Certain information contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, not historical data and should not be construed as a guarantee that the facts and data stated will occur. These forward-looking statements are based on data, assumptions and estimates considered reasonable by Carbios. Carbios operates in a competitive and rapidly evolving environment. It is therefore not in a position to anticipate all risks, uncertainties or other factors that may affect its business, their potential impact on its business or the extent to which the materialization of a risk or combination of risks could lead to results that differ significantly from those mentioned in any forward-looking statement. Carbios draws your attention to the fact that forward-looking statements are in no way a guarantee of its future performance and that its actual financial position, results and cash flows and the development of the sector in which Carbios operates may differ significantly from those proposed or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this document. In addition, even if Carbios’s financial position, results, cash flows and developments in the industry in which it operates are consistent with the forward-looking information contained in this document, such results or developments may not be a reliable indication of Carbios’s future results or developments. Readers are advised to carefully consider the risk factors described in the Universal registration document filed with the French Market Authority (“AMF”), as well as in the half-year financial report available free of charge on the Company’s website. Should all or any part of these risk factors materialize or others, in no case whatsoever will Carbios be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or for any related damages. This information is given only as of the date of this press release. Carbios makes no commitment to publish updates to this information or on the assumptions on which it is based, except in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligation applicable to it.

^[1] Refer to press release published by Carbios and Indorama Ventures on 23 February 2022

^[2] Both equity and non-convertible loan financing by Indorama Ventures shall only be made in the Joint Venture and not in Carbios

^[3] Refer to press release published by Carbios on 31 May 2023