Carbios’s Biorecycling Plant Delayed, But Innovation Drives Global Expansion

Carbios, a French biotech company pioneering enzymatic recycling of PET plastics, has announced a further delay in the commissioning of its first full-scale biorecycling plant in Longlaville, France. Originally targeted for 2025, the project is now expected to be operational in the first half of 2028 – a three-year postponement. This setback is attributed to challenges in securing the final round of private funding amidst a difficult economic climate.

Despite the delay, Carbios remains committed to the Longlaville plant, which is crucial for scaling up its innovative PET depolymerisation technology to an industrial level. The facility is designed to process a substantial volume of plastic waste, equivalent to 300 million T-shirts or two billion coloured bottles, and convert it back into virgin-quality PET. The project has already secured €42.5 million in public funding and boasts pre-commercialisation contracts covering nearly half of its future production capacity.

However, a remaining ‘small portion’ of private investment is proving difficult to obtain, as investors demonstrate caution towards “First-of-a-Kind” industrial infrastructure projects. This hesitancy follows an initial postponement announced at the end of 2024, which prompted Carbios to implement spending reductions in spring 2025. The company now aims to finalize this funding by the end of the first quarter of 2026 to allow construction to begin.

In response to the delays with its flagship French plant, Carbios is actively pursuing an “asset-light” strategy, focusing on licensing its technology to partners globally. This shift allows the company to expand its reach without bearing the full financial burden of building and operating plants independently. Recent agreements demonstrate this approach, including a significant partnership with Wankai Group for a plant in China.

Carbios is now targeting strategic expansion into Europe, North America, and South America, building on earlier agreements with Zhink (China), Sasa (Turkey), and FCC Environment UK (United Kingdom) to replicate its industrial model. This broader licensing strategy, coupled with the continued pursuit of funding for the Longlaville plant, represents Carbios’s multifaceted approach to establishing its biorecycling technology as a global solution for plastic waste.

A strong consortium of major brands supports the Carbios project, including L’Oréal, On, Patagonia, Puma, PVH Corp, and Salomon, all eager to utilize the recycled materials for their products – ranging from bottles to synthetic fibres. This industry backing underscores the growing demand for sustainable plastic solutions and the potential of Carbios’s technology to address the global plastic waste crisis.