BANGKOK - Indorama Ventures (IVL) and Carbios, a biotech company that is working to develop and industrialize biological solutions to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles, have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a Joint Venture for the construction of the world’s first PET biorecycling plant in France.
Based on and subject to the comprehensive terms set out in the MOU, IVL plans to mobilize about €110 million for the Joint Venture in equity and non-convertible loan financing, pending final engineering documentation and final economic feasibility studies. The intention is to finalize contract documentation before the end of 2023.
Carbios has developed a disruptive enzymatic depolymerization technology that enables efficient and solvent-free recycling of PET plastic and textile waste into virgin-like products with an aim to achieve true circularity. It has ambitious plans to become a leading technology provider in advanced recycling of PET by 2035.
After successful ongoing operations in its demonstration plant in Clermont-Ferrand in France, the company has been collaborating with IVL for over a year to assess the commercial and technical feasibility of the technology. The world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant at Longlaville will have a capacity to process about 50,000 tons of post-consumer PET waste per year, including waste that is not recyclable mechanically, equivalent to 2 billion PET colored bottles or 2.5 billion PET trays.
Subject to the successful performance of this first plant in France, IVL said it also intends to potentially expand the technology to other PET sites for future developments.
Under the agreement, Carbios, which filed for plant permitting in December 2022, should acquire 13ha land from Indorama Ventures’ existing PET plant at Longlaville and expects to be granted permits by Q3 2023, allowing start of construction by end of 2023 and targeted commissioning in 2025.
The land surface offers the possibility to double capacity while in line with the MOU, IVL will ensure 100% of output repolymerization and both partners shall collaborate to secure feedstock supply.
The total capital investment for the new plant is estimated to be around €230 million, taking into account the recent impact of inflation. Project costs will be financed by the sums mobilized by Indorama Ventures, the French State and Grand-Est Region subsidies available for the project, and by equity capitalization of the Joint Venture by Carbios.
Vision
The project is part of IVL's Vision 2030 ambition to build on its role as a global sustainable chemical company. The company’s ESG commitments include spending $1.5 billion to increase its recycling capacity to 50 billion PET bottles per year by 2025 and 100 billion bottles per year by 2030.
To meet these goals, IVL, the world’s largest producer of recycled PET resin used in beverage bottles, is investing in new recycling technologies, including advanced recycling, in addition to expanding its global footprint of mechanical recycling sites, including two in France.
Welcoming the signing of the MOU, Yash Lohia, Chairman of the ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said: “We are encouraged by the positive results of the due diligence our teams have performed so far on the technical soundness of Carbios’ technology. We are confident that this groundbreaking development could be a valuable addition to the range of solutions for the circular economy of PET plastics and fibers. Subject to the successful performance of the Longlaville Project, we are considering expanding Carbios’ technology at other sites worldwide for future development.”
Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of Carbios, added: “Today’s announcement is a significant landmark in our partnership with Indorama Ventures and a major step forward in realizing our joint first-of-a-kind PET biorecycling plant. The technical due diligence jointly undertaken with Indorama proves the robustness of Carbios’ disruptive technology. At Carbios, we are committed to bringing plastic and textiles into the circular economy. Our first reference unit at Longlaville is a springboard for our industrial and commercial deployment worldwide in order to reach our leadership goals in advanced recycling of PET.”
