Work to resume on biorecycling plant

Enzyme specialist Carbios has announced plans to resume construction of its Longlaville PET biorecycling plant in northern France.

Provided the company secures additional funding, building will start before the end of 2025 with production expected to begin in the second half of 2027.

Carbios’ report on half-year trading says pre-sales of products from the plant are progressing and it has secured a ‘significant portion’ of its raw material supply and signed polymerisation contracts, strengthening the industrial foundations of the project.

Public funding

It is financing the Longlaville plant with EUR 42.5 million in public funding. The publication in the Official Journal of the European Union is expected shortly, removing the final barrier to receiving the aid.

Additional funding is under discussion, it says. ‘Based on a detailed study of the project, many private investors have expressed strong interest and given agreement in principle for the required investment amounts, mainly subject to the pre-sale of a significant portion of the plant’s capacity, a level not yet reached by Carbios.’

Carbios was founded in 2011 and holds a number of global patents. One of its notable inventions is an industrial application of enzymes that can render plastic waste compostable.