Enzymes powering
the circular economy
The introduction of enzymes in the value chains of the plastics industry, and in particular for the recovery of end-of-life plastics and textiles, is a world-first designed and developed by Carbios.
Leverage the exceptional specificity of enzymes
Enzymes are currently used in many everyday applications (detergents, biofuels, food, textiles, paper), but using them for the degradation of plastic polymers and textiles for industrial purposes had never been considered. We are the first and only company in the world to combine the two sciences of enzymology and plastics so effectively. Our developments also rely on many fields of expertise, such as microbiology, polymer chemistry or process engineering.
Identification and optimization of enzymes
Our research team is working to develop enzymes naturally present in our environment in order to optimize their polymer degradation activity and their heat resistance. The activity and thermostability of enzymes are essential assets for their efficient and competitive implementation in our industrial processes.
The collaboration between Carbios and the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute has given rise to a laboratory of excellence in enzyme engineering, dedicated to the depolymerization of plastics. Every day, our researchers identify and optimize enzymes, paving the way for innovative biodegradation and biorecycling processes for plastics.
Discover where it all begins
The unique alliance between biology and plastics processing at the heart of Carbios expertise
At Carbios, we’re revolutionizing plastics processing by bringing together two worlds that were previously opposed: biology and plastics.
Our innovations are based on the use of patented enzymes capable of breaking down plastics into their basic components (monomers), a process known as depolymerization.
The enzymes act like molecular scissors, cutting the complex chains of plastic polymers. Thanks to this depolymerization, plastic molecules can be reconstituted (repolymerization) to create new high-quality recycled products or accelerate their biodegradation.
Carbios is at the forefront of a new era for the plastics industry, where biology and chemistry join forces to push back the boundaries of what is possible and restore real value to plastic waste.
Targeted applications and polymers
To date, we have developed proprietary enzymes for degrading PET (polyethylene terephthalate), widely used in bottles and textiles, and PLA (polylactic acid), a biosourced polymer mainly used in flexible films, trays and e-commerce packaging (bubble wrap, bolybags, etc.). But there are some twenty other types of plastic.
Our optimized enzymes are now used in two innovative processes: enzymatic recycling and the production of biodegradable plastics.
Other polymers of interest have already been identified such as polyamides (PA6, PA6.6, etc.), polyolefins (polyethylene PE, polypropylene PP, etc.), elastomers (natural rubber, etc.), for which we could work to identify new degradation enzymes.
Safeguarding our know-how
Safeguarding our know-how and our technological advances is a major challenge: our commercial success depends in particular on our ability to obtain patents in order to ensure the protection of our resulting innovations, products and processes. To guarantee the exploitation of our Research and Development results, since the creation of the Company, we have pursued an active policy of securing and strengthening our innovations, through protection of our results from the upstream phase and consolidated improvements made during development.
At the end of 2024, the Group’s intellectual property portfolio included 59 patent families registered in the world’s main regions and covering the Company’s development areas (biodiversity, enzymatic recycling process, biodegradable plastics production process and bioproduction).
This strategy allows us to guarantee a strategic competitive advantage over sizeable markets to our current and future industrial partners.