Historical programming period — scheme no longer open to new applications
Carbios: demonstrating the enzymatic recycling of plastics through the LIFE programme
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
How a French biotechnology company obtained €3.3M in European grants to demonstrate the enzymatic recycling of PET plastics and textiles at pre-industrial scale. This case links LIFE funding to an industrial demonstration project, while distinguishing it from later funding from France 2030, ADEME, the Région Grand Est and the European Investment Bank — operations that must never be added together into a consolidated total.
Funding obtained
€3,300,000
Total project cost
€9,042,940
Funding rate
37%
Instrument
Grant
The company
Carbios (SIREN 531530228) is a French company founded in 2011, specialized in developing biological processes to turn plastic waste into new raw materials. Its headquarters are at the Cataroux site, in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme).
Its technology relies on the use of enzymes capable of breaking down certain polymers, in particular PET (polyethylene terephthalate), into their original components. The ambition is to enable the recycling of waste that is complex or difficult to process through conventional mechanical methods, while preserving the quality of the recycled material.
The targeted applications include PET bottles, food packaging, trays and complex plastic waste, and polyester textiles. The technology developed by Carbios is marketed under the name C-ZYME™.
The initial need
Carbios had developed its enzymatic technology in the laboratory and needed to move past the pre-industrial demonstration stage — validating the technical and economic feasibility of the process at a representative scale, before large-scale industrial deployment.
- Demonstrate the industrial feasibility of enzymatic PET recycling.
- Optimize enzymatic processes to reduce their cost and environmental impact.
- Finance the construction of a first bio-recycling plant.
- Finance an industrial asset through long-term debt (demonstrator).
The funded project
The LIFE project, entitled LIFE CYCLE OF PET — Towards a true circular economy of PET plastic and textiles thanks to enzymatic recycling of waste (reference LIFE20 ENV/FR/000596), aims to demonstrate the industrial feasibility of enzymatic recycling of PET waste, including complex streams from packaging and textiles.
The work programme includes preparing PET waste and converting it into material suited to the process, enzymatic depolymerization (which breaks PET down into its monomers), filtration and purification of the recovered components, repolymerization to produce high-quality recycled PET, and assessment of the process's environmental and economic performance.
The project brings together three organizations with complementary expertise: Carbios (coordinator, France), which develops and validates the enzymatic technology and operates the demonstrator; T.EN Zimmer GmbH (Germany), expertise in repolymerizing recovered monomers and designing industrial equipment; and Deloitte, which analyzes environmental performance (notably through life-cycle analysis).
- Industrial enzymatic recycling demonstrator (Clermont-Ferrand).
- Scale-up of the depolymerization and repolymerization process.
- Production of recycled PET pellets from packaging waste and complex textiles.
Funding plan
Total cost
€9,042,940
Public funding
€3,300,000
Other known funding
€5,742,940
Total budget of the LIFE CYCLE OF PET project: €9,042,940 (Carbios's Layman's Report). European grant: up to €3,300,000, at consortium level (Carbios, T.EN Zimmer GmbH, Deloitte). The brief indicates a share of €3,000,000 specifically announced for Carbios, but this precise breakdown was not found in an independent primary source: the amount recorded here (€3.3M) therefore remains at consortium level rather than broken down by partner. This LIFE funding is strictly distinct from the OPTI-ZYME funding, the Longlaville plant and the EIB loan described below: they must never be added together into a consolidated total.
The scheme used
European LIFE programme (Environment sub-programme), grant agreement LIFE20 ENV/FR/000596, period October 2021 – March 2026. In addition, and strictly separately: ADEME/France 2030 (OPTI-ZYME R&D project), France 2030 and the Région Grand Est (construction of the Longlaville industrial plant), and the European Investment Bank — EIB (loan for the industrial demonstrator).
Results and outcomes
- Achieved
The LIFE project ended in March 2026. In its final report, Carbios states that it has an operational industrial demonstrator, a validated scale-up of the process, the production of recycled PET pellets from packaging waste and complex textiles, improved operational and environmental data, and the preparation of a commercialization model based on technology licensing. These results are those reported by Carbios in its project report, not an independent certification of all the announced environmental performance.
2026-03-31 — source
- Achieved
Carbios received a first payment of €1,224,233 on 5 December 2023 under the OPTI-ZYME project (ADEME/France 2030), intended to optimize the competitiveness and environmental footprint of its enzymatic depolymerization process.
2023-12-05 — source
Results are distinguished by nature (achieved, stated objective, forecast, estimate) — never presented as certain without this distinction.
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Sources and transparency
- European Commission — LIFE20 ENV/FR/000596 (LIFE CYCLE OF PET) — Commission européenne
Confirms the grant agreement, the total budget (€9,042,940), the grant (up to €3.3M), the period (October 2021 - March 2026) and the consortium partners.
- Carbios — Layman's Report, LIFE CYCLE OF PET — Carbios
Confirms the final report of the LIFE project and the results obtained by the demonstrator.
- Carbios — CARBIOS has received €1.2M of the €11.4M granted by ADEME (OPTI-ZYME) — Carbios
Confirms the OPTI-ZYME project (€11.4M in total, ~€8.2M for Carbios including ~€5M as a recoverable advance) and the first payment of €1,224,233 on 05/12/2023.
- Business Wire / EQS-News — Carbios Will Receive Grants Totaling €54 Million (31/05/2023) — Carbios
Confirms the €30M from France 2030 and €12.5M from the Région Grand Est for the Longlaville plant, separate from the €11.4M OPTI-ZYME grant.
- European Investment Bank — €30M loan to Carbios (20/12/2021) — Banque européenne d'investissement
Confirms the €30M loan, its signing (December 2021) and its terms (debt, not a grant).
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