Carbios and TechnipFMC announced that TechnipFMC’s operating center in Lyon, France, will be assisting Carbios to build a plant that demonstrates Carbios’ Enzymatic Recycling Process.

The technology uses proprietary enzymes to recycle waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics into monomers ready for repolymerization into PET with the same technical and physical properties as virgin PET. This collaboration is an important step in the demonstration of the technology and potential future commercialization.

TechnipFMC will provide advisory, engineering, procurement and construction supervision services for the plant, which will be located close to Lyon. Construction will start later this year, and first operations are expected to begin in 2021.

"We are pleased to work with Carbios to demonstrate their plastic recycling technology," said Alain Francois, managing director of TechnipFMC’s Lyon office, in a statement. "This collaboration recognizes our technological know-how and leading-edge approach to commercializing new processes, as well as underlining our ambition to provide services in the field of sustainability and the circular economy."

"Carbios’ collaboration with TechnipFMC has been very successful over the past few years, and we are delighted to extend this valuable partnership to the construction of our demonstration plant," said Jean-Claude Lumaret, CEO of Carbios, in a statement. "This agreement, which will leverage both parties’ expertise, supports our common vision to enhance the sustainability of the plastic industry. Carbios’ technology has proven to be a superior process that efficiently recycles all PET-based plastics. To ensure its implementation at large scale, it is key for operators to gain insights into operational conditions. Our collaboration with TechnipFMC aims to address this need through a demonstration plant."