French plastic biological recycling firm Carbios has received €54 million (£46.4 million) in state aid to help it build its first production facility in Longlaville.
Of this, €30 million has been given by the French Government as part of the France 2030 programme via its ADEME agency, and a further €12.5 million from the Grand-Est region where the plant will be situated.
An additional €11.4 million has been given under the France 2030 programme for Carbios and its academic partners for research and development of the technique that uses enzymes to recycle PET. Of this, €8.2 million has been granted to Carbios and the remainder to the academic institutions it is working with.
French Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion Christophe Béchu said: “Fighting plastic pollution is a global emergency that requires a drastic reduction in its use, but also an increase in its recycling.
“For many years, French public and private research teams have been working together to develop a new enzymatic recycling technology. By supporting the construction of Carbios first biorecycling plant in the world, France is proving that Carbios’ technology has now become an industrial reality, making it possible to recycle waste that was previously difficult to recycle.”
Carbios chief executive Emmanuel Ladent added: “Thanks to the French State’s previous support, we were able to demonstrate the economic and environmental competitiveness of our technology at the industrial demonstrator scale in Clermont-Ferrand.
“The renewed support from ADEME and that of the Grand-Est Region are crucial for this new industrial step which marks the start of our international deployment. Our first plant will be the global showcase for our PET biorecycling technology, and we are very proud that it is located in France.”
