Carbios commences pilot production of biodegradable plastic from enzyme-based technology

CARBIOS has launched operations at its pilot plant for the production of biodegradable plastic, incorporating its exclusive enzyme-based technology. Carbios is an innovative green chemistry company specializing in breakthrough technologies dedicated to the recovery of plastic waste and the production of bio-polymers. This new production platform, based at the company’s headquarters in Saint-Beauzire, Auvergne, in central France, enables the pilot-scale reproduction, with a capacity of 40 kilograms per hour, of all steps required to produce plastic film. The pilot plant encompasses several production modules, from the extrusion of the plastic materials to their transformation into flexible film, as well as the characterization of all properties of the materials produced. The establishment of this pilot plant for the production of plastics marks a new milestone in Carbios’ development, enabling it to master and accelerate the development of all applications. The new platform effectively brings to completion the pre-pilot development plant for the production of enzymes (established in 2014), and the collaboration with the CRITT Bio-Industries (Regional Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer) in Toulouse established in 2015 for the production of enzymes at the pilot scale of 300 liters. These investments have been made with the funds raised during Carbios’ IPO of December 2013. The company is now ahead of its original development schedule. With the new production platform, Carbios has the ability to demonstrate the performance of its biodegradation technology for the first applications (such as plastic films, mulching films for agriculture, and plastic bags) at the pre-industrial stage. The company thus foresees initiating the first industrial and commercial demonstrations in the near future. Jean-Claude Lumaret, CEO of Carbios, explained: “After the announcement in July 2014 of the successes we obtained with the first self-destructible plastic films that included Carbios’ enzyme-based technology, the next step was to develop formulations for these plastic materials based on the specific properties required by each application. Having a plastic production platform at our headquarters enables us to quickly take these first applications to the industrial and commercial stage, and to strengthen our intellectual property with the patents developed for each new approved application. I am very proud of this new stage in Carbios’ development, which strengthens our industrial credibility vis-à-vis our current and future partners. We now possess within Carbios all of the tools and skills required to make our technology an industrial reality.”