(News Bulletin 247) – The Clermont-based company will obtain total aid of 54 million euros from the State and the Grand-Est Region to finance the first PET biorecycling plant in the world and its research and development work. The commissioning of this plant is scheduled for 2025.

The recovery of plastic materials has become a major environmental issue. European regulations require manufacturers to ensure that their plastic packaging contains at least 25% recycled products by 2025. A percentage that will rise to 30% five years later, in 2030.

To comply with this European directive, brands will have to come to terms. This is where the Clermont-based company Carbios comes in. Founded in 2011, the green chemistry company has developed a unique process based on the use of specific enzymes. These make it possible to recycle PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics and polyester fibers more widely than any other technology.

The public authorities have taken this environmental issue head on to rethink the end of life of plastics and textiles. And they amply support Carbios’ initiatives in this area. The green chemistry company announced on Wednesday evening that it would benefit from a financial boost from the State and the Grand-Est Region to support the construction of its first enzymatic PET recycling plant in Longlaville (Meurthe-et-Moselle) .

At full capacity, the production unit will be intended to process 50,000 tonnes of PET waste per year, the equivalent of 2 billion bottles or 2.5 billion food trays. This plant will offer the possibility of relaunching production activity in France for the two basic components of PET, PTA (terephthalic acid) and MEG (monoethylene glycol), both resulting from the Carbios process. The company plans to start construction of this plant before the end of the year with commissioning scheduled for 2025.

An envelope of more than 50 million euros

To finance this production unit, the Clermont-based green chemistry company will receive an envelope of 30 million euros from the State as part of “France 2030”, a plan announced in 2021 aimed at developing France’s industrial competitiveness and future technologies. The Grand-Est Region will contribute 12.5 million euros. Carbios points out that the granting of this financing of 42.5 million euros remains subject to the approval of the European Commission.

Carbios will also benefit from additional financing. The State plans to grant an additional envelope of 11.4 million euros as part of “France 2030”, of which 8.2 million euros will go directly to Carbios and 3.2 million euros to its partners. . This funding will support Carbios’ research work on enzymatic technologies as well as the exploration of new breakthrough solutions.

“By supporting the construction of the first Carbios biorecycling site in the world, France is thus demonstrating that Carbios technology has now become an industrial reality which will make it possible to recycle waste that was difficult to recycle until now”, declared Christophe. Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion.

On the sidelines of this announcement, Carbios also recalls having recently secured a first source of supply for its future factory by winning part of the Citeo call for tenders for the recycling of multilayer trays. Citeo is a private, non-profit company specializing in the recycling of household packaging and graphic paper

The French company also benefits from the support of big names in the cosmetics, food and clothing industries. L’Oréal, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage have already signed partnerships with Carbios to set up recycling plants based on this enzyme-based biological process that could help reduce the amount of plastic in nature.

The market appreciates this mark of confidence from the public authorities for the industrial process of Carbios. On the Paris Stock Exchange, the Carbios share rose another 6.9%, around 2:00 p.m., after having rebounded 11.7% from the first exchanges.