Carbios, a French pioneer in the development of enzymatic solutions for plastic and textile polymers, has earned €3.3 million in the form of a European grant from T.EN Zimmer and Deloitte, comprising €3 million for Carbios. The European Commission's LIFE program aims to stimulate high-potential innovative projects in the environmental domain.

T.EN Zimmer will contribute its monomer repolymerisation expertise in 100% recovered PET, and Deloitte will contribute its environmental performance study of the process for plastic and textile waste (primarily through the Life Cycle Analysis). The European LIFE funding program is a key grant tool that encourages the development of new solutions with low environmental impact and a track record of industrial use. According to a news release from Carbios, its C-ZYME technology completely conforms with the European Commission's goals.

Faced with the limits of thermomechanical recycling methods, Carbios' solution is unique in that it adds value to plastic and textile waste by allowing for 100% recycling of all types of PET waste without sacrificing quality. Throughout the whole value chain of the plastics and textiles life cycle, Carbios is devoted to a completely circular economy model. At the cusp of industrialization, its one-of-a-kind method will meet the legislative standards of the European Union as well as the objectives of huge corporations that have made considerable commitments to sustainable materials.

Kader Hidra, Carbios’ chief financial officer, said that by putting their industrial demonstration unit into operation in September 2021, they were able to demonstrate the large deployment capacity of their enzymatic PET recycling technology. The money will assist in supporting experiments on plastic and textile waste at the demonstration facility, which will help confirm the process's scale-up and ultimately to the commercialization of their technology through licensing.