In June of this year, Carbios, L'Oréal, Nestlé, Pepsi and Suntory jointly announced that they have successfully produced the world's first food-grade PET plastic bottle using waste plastic as a raw material by using Carbios' enzymatic PET recycling technology.

Carbios produced sample bottles for these partners. Carbios CEO Jean-Claude Lumaret said: "This is the first time in the world that Carbios' patented enzymes are used to decompose colored PET plastics and produce food-grade transparent PET bottles, whose performance is exactly the same as PET manufactured by traditional methods. This is a truly transformative innovation that can finally realize the global supply cycle of PET plastics so that it will never become a waste product. ”

This enzyme was found in the leaves composted in autumn. The hydrolase produced by it can break down the leaf membrane of the leaves. The researchers modified it and finally obtained a highly efficient PET hydrolase. Under the condition of 72℃, this enzyme can decompose nearly 90% of 1 ton of waste plastic bottles in 10 hours.

Lumaret said that its first PET enzymatic recycling industrial demonstration plant will start operations in September this year. The construction of the plant was supported by the Michelin Group. It was built on the new base of the Michelin Group in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The demonstration plant will verify enzymes. The technical, environmental and economic performance of the French PET recycling process prepared a complete engineering document for the construction and implementation of Carbios’ first industrial plant.

In May of this year, Carbios successfully completed a capital increase of 114 million euros, and plans to use the funds to build a 40,000-ton industrial facility, which is expected to be completed and put into use in 2025.

However, the company has been established for 10 years and has not yet launched any PET products. Carbio's full-year operating income in 2020 was 1.643 million euros, compared with 1.45 million euros in the previous fiscal year. Because the company's business is still developed with innovative technology. Mainly, most of the operating income comes from subsidies and services. There are two main revenue models. One is to obtain license fees or dividend income through intellectual property licenses; the other is to sell enzymes to plastic recycling-related companies and related companies to achieve revenue.