Page 54 - Plastics News May 2024

BUSINESS NEWS

Carbios breaks ground on PET depolymerisation plant in France

Emmanuel Macron praised the plant’s significance for France during the groundbreaking ceremony

arbios has broken ground responding to complex environmental being built offers space to double the
on its PET depolymerisation challenges, offering a sustainable so- capacity in the future.
plant in Longlaville, France, lution for a future where plastic and Carbios’ enzymatic depolymerisation
totted as the world’s first PET textile waste will be transformed into process enables the efficient and sol-
biorecycling plant. valuable resources for a truly circular vent-free recycling of PET plastic and
economy,” the President added.
The occasion was marked by a cere- textile waste into virgin - equivalent
mony attended by over 200 guests and This February, Carbios appointed De products.
has drawn praise from France’s Presi- Smet Engineers & Contractors with en- The total capital investment for the
dent Emmanuel Macron. gineering, procurement, and construc- new plant is re-estimated to be around
“At a time when governments are ne- tion services for the plant, signalling it €230 million, considering recent im-
gotiating an international treaty against was moving forward with construction. pact from inflation. Project costs will
plastic pollution in Ottowa, the ground- Carbios said in a statement that ‘work be financed by the sums mobilised by
breaking of Carbios’ biorecycling plant is progressing on schedule’, with cus- Indorama Ventures, the French State
is particularly significant,” Macron tomers deliveries in ‘significant quanti- and Grand-Est Region subsidies avail-
said. “It illustrates France's commit- ties’ expected in 2026. able for the project, and by equity capi-
ment to the ecological transition, and The plant will be able to process about talisation of the joint venture by Car-
demonstrates our ability to turn chal- 50,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET bios.
lenges into opportunities for a more waste per year, equivalent to 2 billion Source – Sustainable Plastics
sustainable future. This plant, a world PET coloured bottles or 2.5 billion PET
first, embodies French innovation in
trays. The plot on which the plant is

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