In a strategic update provided by the company 6 April, France-based Carbios reaffirmed its commitment to its proprietary enzymatic PET recycling process.
A pioneer in enzymatic depolymerisation solutions for plastics and textile polymers, the company also reiterated its ambition to make enzymatically recycled PET derived from its process available on the market by 2025.
To that end, the company has also announced new plans to build its first PET recycling production unit based on its technology. According to the schedule released by Carbios, September 2021 will see the start-up of the PET demonstration facility at Clermont Ferrand, on a site made available by Michelin Group. This will generate the process data required for the design of the planned production unit. The engineering studies and site selection are planned for 2021 - 2022, with actual construction starting towards the end of 2022. Start-up of the unit is projected at the end of 2024, with the first revenues being generated in 2025.
Earlier this month, Carbios entered into a non-exclusive and non-binding Expression Of Intent agreement with PET producer Equipolymers, a subsidiary of EQUATE Petrochemical Company, under which the companies will explore the possibility of locating the new unit at the Equipolymers production site in Schkopau, Germany. Equipolymers has gained prior experience with the chemical recycling of PET; the company launched 4 January its Viridis 30 food-grade PET incorporating 30% chemically recycled PET as feedstock. Carbios’ biorecycling technology may provide an alternative solutionto help develop new products that are more sustainable in the long-term.
Next to establishing support in sourcing PET wastes for the unit, the agreement also provides for mutual access to data generated by the demonstration facility in France and at Equipolymers' facilities.
The estimated cost of the unit, which will have a projected production capacity of 40,000 tonnes of recycled PET, is around €100 million. Carbios has already started to explore various financing options.