Carbios hosts world’s first PET Biorecycling Summit with Bertrand Piccard, Initiator and Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation, as Keynote Speaker

• Carbios brings together top researchers and leaders in the field of enzyme and polymer study to share advances in biological recycling

• Circular economy key players from academics and industry gathered from around the world at the first-of-its-kind event

• Solar Impulse Foundation recognizes Carbios’ breakthrough technology

Carbios hosted the world’s first PET Biorecycling Summit from 7 to 8 December 2022 in Paris.  The event attracted over 100 international participants from the scientific, academic, and industrial worlds to exchange on the advances in the field of biological recycling, and how to bring these innovations for a circular economy to market.

The two-day conference gathered world-renowned scientists from various academic institutions to share their latest research on PET enzymatic depolymerization.  Bertrand Piccard, Initiator and Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation[1], joined as the Keynote Speaker for the last session focused on PET circularity, and praised Carbios’ contribution to reducing plastic pollution.  The Summit concludes with a visit of Carbios’ demonstration plant in Clermont-Ferrand today. The demonstration plant was inaugurated in September 2021 and brings Carbios’ technology one step closer to industrialization.  Following the demonstration plant’s success, Carbios is on track to build and operate the world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant (with a processing capacity of 50.000 tons of PET waste per year) in France (Longlaville) by 2025[2], and to start licensing its technology throughout the world.

View the full program and list of speakers

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• Scientific researchers from 10 countries, including North America, UK, Japan and Germany
• Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse Foundation, as Keynote Speaker
• Speakers from strategic partnerships: L’Oréal, Salomon, and McKinsey

Bertrand Piccard, Serial explorer, psychiatrist and clean technology pioneer, Initiator and Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation: “Reducing plastic waste is one of the major challenges of our times.  Carbios’ technology for the biological recycling of plastics was one of the first innovations labeled “Efficient Solution” by the Solar Impulse Foundation back in 2019[3].  Carbios has my continued support and I commend today’s initiative to gather key stakeholders in the fight to protect the environment.”

Alain Marty, Chief Scientific Officer of Carbios: “At Carbios, our teams have developed a unique enzymatic process that makes it possible to biologically recycle the second most widely used plastic in the world: PET. Unlike mainstream recycling methods, our innovative process  makes it possible to recycle all types of waste, even polyester textiles, to be reused in the production of new PET plastics with equivalent quality to virgin ones. This first PET Biorecycling Summit allowed us to explore the scientific advances in the field of enzymatic recycling and to challenge ourselves to go further, faster, with the support of an international network of experts.”

Emmanuel Ladent, Chief Executive Officer of Carbios: “The success of our industrialization model is based on our ability to forge strategic partnerships.  Since Carbios’ inception, we have built partnerships in research, business, and finance, as well as consortiums with major brand owners in both the packaging and textile industries.  I am honored that so many delegates were present for the first PET Biorecycling Summit, as I am convinced that we can reach a truly circular economy with biological recycling only if academics and industry work hand in hand.”

[1] To address sustainability challenges while enabling economic growth, Bertrand Piccard and the Solar Impulse Foundation have identified 1000+ clean and profitable solutions.  More details available on the official website: https://solarimpulse.com/foundation

[2] Cf. Press release dated 23 February 2022

[3] Cf. Press release dated 3 June 2019