Carbios, a pioneer in the development of enzymatic solutions dedicated to the end-of-life of plastic and textile polymers, and Indorama Ventures, one of the world-leading PET manufacturer, jointly announced a collaboration to build a manufacturing plant operating Carbios’ PET bio-recycling technology at Indorama Ventures’ PET production site in Longlaville (France).

After having successfully started-up its demonstration plant in Clermont-Ferrand, Carbios is now moving one step further towards the industrialization and commercialization by partnering with Indorama Ventures. The goal is to build and operate in France the world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET bio-recycling plant, with a processing capacity estimated at approx. 50,000 tons of post-consumer PET waste per year, equivalent to 2 billion PET bottles or 2.5 billion PET trays.

After the positive results of Indorama Ventures’ initial analysis on the technical soundness of Carbios’ technology over the past several months, both parties agreed to complete a due diligence process. A feasibility study will be conducted for the industrialization of Carbios’ technology on Indorama Ventures’ French production site. Subject to the successful completion of these technical and economical evaluations, Indorama Ventures would co-invest in the project.

The capital investment required for the project is expected to be around 150 million euros for Carbios core technology, including in particular an additional purification step, which has been integrated into the process. In addition, an estimated 50 million euros investment will be allocated for the infrastructure preparation of the site. The project is expected to create approximatively 150 direct and indirect full-time jobs. According to forecasts, the plant should go into operation in 2025.

With its world-first enzyme-based biological process, Carbios’ technology, named C-ZYME, converts PET (the dominant polymer in bottles, trays and textiles made of polyester) into its core monomers, which can then be used to manufacture 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable PET. This first-of-a-kind manufacturing plant combines Carbios’ science and technology with Indorama Ventures’ world-class manufacturing capabilities. This collaboration will meet the growing needs of both demanding consumers and large consumer goods companies including Carbios’ partners and shareholders (L’Oréal, Michelin, L’Occitane, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo, Suntory Beverage & Food Europe) for more sustainable packaging.