Months after breaking ground on the world’s first PET depolymerisation plant in France, Carbios announced plans to enter the Chinese market.
The French biochemistry company has signed a Joint Letter of Intent with Zhink Group, a China-based oil refiner and polyester manufacturer, to build a plant with at least 50,000 tonnes/year processing capacity in China. The partners did not disclose when they expect to start construction.
China is the world’s largest PET producer, and in 2020 alone produced 3.8 million tonnes of waste PET bottles and 1.3 million tonnes of other PET waste.
The partnership also marks the first time Carbios would licence its enzymatic depolymerisation technology, which it says is key to becoming a global leading technology provider in PET recycling by 2035.
Novonesis, a Denmark-based biochemistry company, will produce Carbios’ patented enzymes for its PET biorecycling plants under licence, as part of an exclusive, long-term collaboration.
“There is great momentum in China to accelerate the circular economy and meet its target of carbon neutrality by 2060,” said Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of Carbios. “The technology developed by Carbios makes perfect sense in this context: capable of recycling all types of PET waste, it promotes a circular economy with high-quality products and significantly reduces the carbon footprint of industries. As a leader in PET production, Zhink is considered as a key partner for introducing our technology into China and will stimulate our international deployment,” he added.
Zhink is a major PET producer in China, with an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes. The company said it wants to increase its share in both the recycled PET and textiles industries through the new partnership. China is the world leader for transforming PET into fibre, representing 78% of all PET fibre transformation globally, according to IHS Market research.
The planned PET depolymerisation plant will have enough space to expand capacity over 50,000 tonnes/year, the companies said in a statement. It is expected to serve both China and international packaging and textile markets.
Carbios’ plant in Longlaville, France, is likely to serve as a blueprint for its Asian counterpart. The European plant will also process about 50,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET waste per year, equivalent to 2 billion PET coloured bottles or 2.5 billion PET trays. The plot on which the plant is being built also offers space to expand the capacity in the future. The plant is expected to begin operations in 2026.
Carbios joins other European companies pursuing international expansion into China. The world’s largest polymer producer enjoys lower energy and labour costs than in the West. China is also increasing its demand for recycled PET market, having consumed 38% of the world’s output in 2021.