Carbios licensing documentation ready for worldwide industrial and commercial deployment of its PET biorecycling technology

Carbios licensing documentation ready for worldwide industrial and commercial deployment of its PET biorecycling technology 

• Excellent outputs from the demonstration unit and advanced engineering study for the reference unit allow the transfer of Carbios’ PET biorecycling technology to potential licensees
• Technical Information Summary, Process Design Package and Process Book make up the engineering documentation deliverables for the design and construction of Licensed Plants
• Completion of the Technical Information Summary marks the start of international prospection

Clermont-Ferrand, France, 03 April 2023 (18.00 CEST). Carbios (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB), a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastics and textiles, is geared up for the global commercialization of its PET biorecycling technology.  The successful ongoing operations in its demonstration unit in Clermont-Ferrand and the advanced engineering study for its first commercial plant (due to be commissionned in 2025) define the engineering basis and operational guidelines for units to be operated under license agreements.  From technology promotion with the Technical Information Summary to project development with a specific Process Design Package and Process Book, future Carbios licensees will be handed all necessary process documentation to reliably engineer, procure, construct and operate their PET biorecycling plants under stringent HSE^[1] standards and with high product quality.

PET producers and chemical companies are natural potential customers for a technology that allows a true circularity for PET with alternative feedstock to petro-sourced monomers, and that is fully compatible with existing polymerization plants.  By providing value to all possible sources of PET feedstock including complex plastic packaging and textile waste, Carbios also aims to reach out to other players in the value chain such as waste management companies and public entities.  Carbios’ technology also provides a solution to brand owners in order to meet growing regulatory requirements as well as their own ambitious sustainability objectives for the inclusion of r-PET in their products and packaging.

“As the leading company in the industrialization of biorecyling technology, Carbios is keen to bring its solution for plastic and textile circularity at scale to partners around the world,” commented Stéphane Ferreira, Chief Business Officer of Carbios. “Wherever there is plastic use, there is a need for eco-responsible recycling.  At Carbios, we are ready to deploy our biorecycling technology and contribute concretely to the circular economy of plastic.”

The new industrial milestone complements the collaborations with brand owners within Carbios’ two consortiums, and the exclusive long-term partnership with Novozymes, the world leader in enzyme production, which ensures the supply of enzymes to the Carbios reference unit and future licensed plants. 

“With the engineering documentation now made available, we have reached a new industrial milestone on schedule in the deployment of our PET biorecycling technology,” said Lionel Arras, Industrial Development Director of Carbios.

“Putting this documentation together is a significant achievement and I thank all our engineering teams from our demonstration and reference units for their hard work,” added Frédéric Alarcon, Licensing Manager of Carbios.

About Carbios

Established in 2011 by Truffle Capital, Carbios is a green chemistry company, developing biological and innovative processes. Through its unique approach of combining enzymes and plastics, Carbios aims to address new consumer expectations and the challenges of a broad ecological transition by taking up a major challenge of our time: plastic and textile pollution. Carbios deconstructs any type of PET (the dominant polymer in bottles, trays, textiles made of polyester) into its basic components which can then be reused to produce new PET plastics with equivalent quality to virgin ones. This PET innovation, the first of its kind in the world, was recently recognized in a scientific paper published on the front cover of the prestigious journal Nature. Carbios successfully started up its demonstration plant in Clermont-Ferrand in 2021. It has now taken another key step towards the industrialization of its process with the construction of a first-of-a-kind unit in partnership with Indorama Ventures.

In 2017, Carbios and L’Oréal co-founded a consortium to contribute to the industrialization of its proprietary recycling technology. Committed to developing innovative solutions for sustainable development, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe joined this consortium in April 2019. In 2022, Carbios signed an agreement with On, Patagonia, PUMA, and Salomon, to develop solutions promoting the recyclability and circularity of their products.  PVH Corp. joined this consortium in January 2023.

The Company has also developed an enzymatic biodegradation technology for PLA-based (a bio sourced polymer) single-use plastics. This technology can create a new generation of plastics that are 100% compostable in domestic conditions, integrating enzymes at the heart of the plastic product.

For more information, please visit www.carbios.com/en   /  Twitter: Carbios LinkedIn: Carbios Instagram: insidecarbios

Carbios (ISIN FR0011648716/ALCRB) is eligible for the PEA-PME, a government program allowing French residents investing in SMEs to benefit from income tax rebates.

Translation is for information purposes only.
In case of discrepancy between the French and the English version of this press release, the English version shall prevail

^[1] Health, Safety and Environment