#Recycling / Circular Economy

2024-02-15

CARBIOS and De Smet Engineers & Contractors enter engineering partnership for construction of world’s first PET biorecycling plant

CARBIOS (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB), a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles, and De Smet Engineers & Contractors (DSEC), a world-class provider of Engineering, Procurement and Construction services in the biotech’s and agro-processing industries, jointly announce their collaboration to spearhead the construction of the world's first PET biorecycling plant.

Under the agreement, De Smet has been entrusted with the project management and detailed engineering, including procurement assistance and CARBIOS partners’ management, to ensure the execution of the plant's construction in Longlaville, France, due for commissioning in 2025. CARBIOS’ first commercial facility will play a key role in the fight against plastic pollution by offering an industrial-scale solution for the enzymatic depolymerization of PET waste to accelerate a circular economy for plastic and textiles.

With over 70 members of De Smet's expert team dedicated to the project and working alongside CARBIOS teams, the collaboration aims to guarantee the project timeline and budget while upholding stringent quality, safety, health, and environmental standards. Construction is currently underway and on schedule.

Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of CARBIOS: “De Smet was selected after a comprehensive bidding process, and we are very confident in our successful cooperation. De Smet has an excellent track record in the engineering and management of complex industrial projects and has extensive experience in water-based technologies. With our combined expertise and shared ambition, this collaboration marks a significant step towards fulfilling CARBIOS' vision of a sustainable future for plastic and textiles.”

Dimitri de Suraÿ, CEO of De Smet Engineers & Contractors (DSEC): “Perfectly aligned with our ambition to contribute to the environmental transition by implementing novel biotechnology process and by boosting the bio-economy, we are proud to support CARBIOS' groundbreaking investment, thanks to our agility in project execution which ensures its timely and competitive industrial realization. We are thrilled to have been entrusted by CARBIOS with the construction of the plant and are fully committed to the success of this innovative project.”

About the world’s first PET biorecycling plant

CARBIOS' technology enables PET circularity and provides an alternative raw material to petro-sourced monomers, allowing PET producers, waste management companies, public entities, and brands to have an efficient solution to meet regulatory requirements and fulfill their own sustainability commitments. The plant will have a processing capacity of 50,000 tons of post-consumer PET waste per year (equivalent to 2 billion colored PET bottles, 2.5 billion PET trays, or 300 million T-shirts) and will address waste with little or no value to date such as colored PET bottles, food trays, and textiles. The plant will create 150 direct and indirect jobs in the region. In October 2023, CARBIOS obtained the building and site operating permits. The plant is currently under construction in Longlaville in the Grand-Est Region on land officially acquired from Indorama Ventures on 14 February 2024.

CARBIOS and Wankai sign strategic PET biorecycling pact

CARBIOS (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB) and Wankai New Materials (“Wankai”), a listed subsidiary of Zhink Group, the 3rd largest PET producer in China and 4th worldwide, announce the signing of the definitive agreement establishing a strategic partnership for the industrial rollout of CARBIOS’s PET biorecycling technology in Asia. The first milestone will be the construction of a PET biorecycling plant in China.

CARBIOS presents its 2025 half-year results and confirms its objective to build a PET biorecycling plant, with a revised timeline

CARBIOS (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB), a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies aimed at reinventing the lifecycle of plastics and textiles, today announces its 2025 half-year results and confirms its objective to build a PET biorecycling plant in Longlaville, with a revised timeline.

CARBIOS enters the r-PET market for tire textile filaments

CARBIOS (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB) announces the signing of a multi-year commercial agreement with Indorama Ventures, the global leader in PET production. This agreement covers the supply of biorecycled monomers from its Longlaville plant, which will be transformed into r-PET filaments by Indorama Ventures and then integrated by Michelin into the manufacturing of its tires.

How innovations drive BASF’s success

“Innovation has always been part of BASF’s DNA. Especially in these volatile times, it is crucial to leverage our innovative strength to develop competitive solutions that differentiate us as a company in our markets and give us a competitive edge,” said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF and Chief Technology Officer, at the company’s Research Press Briefing held today. To achieve this, BASF implemented its “Winning Ways” strategy about a year ago with the clear goal of becoming the preferred chemical company to enable its customers’ green transformation.

Mimaki demonstrates versatile, simple TRAPIS textile printing at Heimtextil 2026

Mimaki’s textile pigment transfer printing system, TRAPIS, is able to print on a diverse range of fabrics - unlike traditional processes - including natural fibres and synthetic fabrics. The full solution will be shown on Mimaki’s booth (Hall 3.0 Stand A97), as the company returns to Heimtextil to showcase its advancements in sustainable, high quality and efficient textile printing.

The Technology Hub for global denim trends: ITM 2026

The ITM 2026 International Textile Machinery Exhibition, to be held at the Tüyap Fair and Congress Center in Istanbul from June 9–13, 2026, brings together groundbreaking technologies in denim production. From smart production systems to eco-friendly raw materials, from digital washing solutions to laser effect technologies, innovations that will shape the future of denim will be showcased for the first time at ITM 2026.

38th International Cotton Conference Bremen: Let´s Talk about Cotton!

The 38th International Cotton Conference Bremen, to be held on 25-27 March 2026 in Bremen’s parliament building on market square, once again sends a powerful signal for professional excellence and international dialogue. The focus is on the latest market trends and technical innovations throughout the entire value chain – from agriculture and quality assurance to processing and the circular economy. With its high-calibre speakers, the conference remains an indispensable forum for anyone involved in shaping the cotton industry scientifically, technically, or economically.

More safety and comfort for protective clothing thanks to auxetic fabrics

When everyday materials are pulled, they stretch or elongate in the direction of the pull and become narrower in cross-section. We can also observe this property in two-dimensional textiles. Auxetic structures behave differently here. They have the striking property of not changing under tensile stress or even increasing their width or thickness. These properties are advantageous, for example, in protective textiles or textile filter media. The DITF are researching auxetic fabrics for various applications.