Carbios industrialize their plastic recycling program, which uses enzymes to break down plastic waste

CARBIOS, is the world’s only provider of industrial solutions for infinite biorecycling and biodegradation of plastics.

Their first licensed technology is being rolled-out at large-scale from 2020 to allow the biodegradation of all single-use plastics in an eco-friendly manner that has never been achieved before.

Carbios has also patented a quite unique concept in green chemical industry : infinite biorecycling of plastics which is coming to the market. By decoupling plastic from virgin fossil fuels, Carbios open a huge untapped opportunity. Waste plastic becomes a resource suitable for the circular economy. Carbios are the first player with a breakthrough solution to monetize this market worth hundreds of billion dollars. After a deal signed with L’ORÉAL, more global leading partners are about to join.

Recently, Carbios and Toulouse White Biotechnology announced they have been awarded €7.5M to industrialize their plastic recycling programme, which uses enzymes to break down waste. The funding comes from the public initiative Investments for the Future Program, which is aimed to foster innovation in French industries. The €7.5M is to be paid in installments over a period of 39 months. Carbios is the leader of the project, and will receive up to €4.1M of the total. The funding will help to accelerate the industrialization of Carbios’ technology, which aims to recycle plastics containing the polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most commonly found plastic in textiles and bottles.

About Carbios history and breakthrough achievement in sustainable plastic industry, there is CARBIOLICE: their first insdustrial and commercial achievement.

The first industrial achievement of CARBIOS saw the light in 2016 with the operational launch of the CARBIOLICE joint venture, created with Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients and Bpifrance.

Through its production unit, CARBIOLICE will produce and commercialize CARBIOS patented technology for enzymatic biodegradation of single-use plastics. It will address specific applications like films, bags, mulching films and rigid packaging.

As of June 30, 2018, CARBIOS holds a 56% stake in CARBIOLICE. Royalty payments on the sales of products incorporating CARBIOS wasteless biodegradation technology will start as soon as 2020.

© CARBIOS - Biodegradation technology dedicated to single-use plastics

Carbios brings BIO-RECYCLING: A BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION BRINGING PLASTIC MANUFACTURING INTO THE SUSTAINABLE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Most plastics today are produced from fossil fuels, are used, and discarded. This wasteful linear model is about to change. CARBIOS biorecycling technology is leading a revolution by bringing traditional plastic manufacturing into the sustainable circular economy. They enable the creation of new virgin plastics from used plastics with no loss in quality. This transition towards a circular economy for plastics is opening a large number of economic opportunities, ranging from new production models where waste plastic becomes a valuable resource to the emergence of alternative and sustainable solutions. These are crucial to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and engage the industry in truly sustainable choices.

Unlike current thermo-mechanical plastic recycling processes, which enable only downgraded secondary applications, the recycling process developed by CARBIOS is a biological process working according to circular economy principles. This innovative technology consists in the use of biological catalysts (enzymes) to infinitely recycle PET plastics such as bottles, packaging and PET polyester fibers. This disruptive approach enables the

© Carbios infinite biorecycling principle

WASTELESS BIODEGRADATION

Deconstruction of PET plastics into their original building blocks that can be used to produce new virgin plastic products, with no loss in quality. CARBIOS innovation is closing the loop for the recycling of all kinds of PET plastics. (colored, opaque, complex...)
CARBIOS eliminates the constraints encountered by current mechanical processes, by taking advantage of the extraordinary specificity of the enzymes.

With its enzyme-based technology, CARBIOS offers an industrial solution to change the plastics lifecycle into a genuine circular economy with an endless recycling of PET plastics.

INDUSTRIAL ROLL-OUT STRATEGY FOR CARBIOS’ PET BIORECYCLING TECHNOLOGY

The Company’s strategy for the PET recycling market consists of scaling-up its competitive industrial process within a demonstration plant (currently designed by TechnipFMC) that will be operational in 2021, then of running the process at large-scale during 18 to 24 month and finally licensing this proprietary technology to global PET producers.

This breakthrough solution enabling infinite recycling for all kinds of PET plastics will bring value to the entire plastics industry. It will benefit brand-owners, polymer producers, plastic converters, collectors, and also enzyme producers for whom a new important market is being created with our technology. The license granted will generate revenues in the form of upfront payments for each unit and through the sale of the catalyst (the enzyme) by CARBIOS to PET producers who will operate the process.

CARBIOS’ short-term goal is to bring its technology to an industrial scale through a demonstration plant. This industrialization will be rolled out as follow:

To drive market demand and meet the needs of the market and the expectations of consumers, the Company is currently working on new partnerships with global brand-owners similar to the one launched through a Consortium with L’OREAL in 2017. Most of them have to meet aggressive sustainability goals which cannot be reached with today’s recycling technologies.

The technologies developed by CARBIOS are protected by strong intellectual property, representing more than ten years of research. So far, CARBIOS has secured a unique know-how grouping 26 families of patents.

CARBIOS is listed on the Euronext Growth Paris since December 19, 2013. Ticker: ALCRB.PA (Reuters) / ALCRB.FP (Bloomberg)