Carbios hosts world’s first PET biorecycling summit in Paris

Carbios, a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastics and textiles, hosted the world’s first PET Biorecycling Summit in Paris on December 7 and 8, 2022.

Over 100 people from around the world attended the conference to discuss the latest developments in the field of biological recycling and how to commercialize these innovations for a circular economy.

The two-day conference brought together eminent researchers from a range of academic institutions to present their most recent findings on PET enzymatic depolymerization. As the keynote speaker for the final session on PET circularity, Bertrand Piccard, the founder and chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation1, applauded Carbios’ role in lowering plastic pollution. Today’s visit to the Carbios demonstration facility in Clermont-Ferrand marks the summit’s conclusion. The demonstration facility, which was opened in September 2021, advances the industrialization of Carbios’ technology. Following the demonstration plant’s success, Carbios is on schedule to construct and run the first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling facility in France (Longlaville) by the year 20252 (with a processing capacity of 50.000 tons of PET waste per year), and to begin licensing its technology globally.

Bertrand Piccard, Serial explorer, psychiatrist and clean technology pioneer, Initiator and Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation, said that reducing plastic waste is one of the key issues of our day. One of the first inventions to be designated a “Efficient Solution” by the Solar Impulse Foundation was Carbios’ biological recycling of plastic technology in 20193.

Alain Marty, Chief Scientific Officer of Carbios, said that the second-most used plastic in the world, PET, may now be recycled biologically thanks to a special enzymatic method created by Carbios’ scientists. Unlike traditional recycling techniques, their cutting-edge system enables the recycling of all waste types, including polyester fabrics, for use in the creation of new PET polymers with quality comparable to virgin ones. With the assistance of a global network of experts, our first PET Biorecycling Summit gave them the chance to examine the scientific developments in the area of enzymatic recycling and to challenge ourselves to move more quickly.

Emmanuel Ladent, Chief Executive Officer of Carbios, added that the success of their industrialisation strategy depends on their capacity to create strategic alliances. Since the beginning of Carbios, they have formed alliances with significant brand owners in the packaging and textile industries as well as partnerships in business, finance, and research. He is grateful that there were so many attendees at the first PET Biorecycling Summit because he firmly believes that biological recycling will only lead to a genuinely circular economy if academia and business collaborate.