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French biotech firm Carbios has put the construction of its new PET biorecycling facility on hold for the next six to nine months pending an influx of additional financing.
The company, which reported a cash position of 112 million Euros on November 30, blamed the delay on delayed funding pending completion of additional financing under satisfactory conditions. Carbios said it hopes to finalize this non-dilutive financing as quickly as possible to resume construction and bring the plant online by 2027.
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“To ensure the prudent execution of our strategy and safeguard our cash flow in a complex environment, we are postponing construction of the plant in line with the expected timetable for public grants and the negotiation of the necessary additional non-dilutive financing,” said Philippe Pouletty, founder, chairman of the board of directors and interim CEO of Carbios.
Pouletty took temporary control of the company after previous CEO Emmanuel Ladent’s term in office ended. He will be assisted by Vincent Kamel, a director with the company since 2021 with international industrial specialty chemical experience.
A press release from the company said that postponing construction on the Longlaville, France, facility would allow Carbios to slow the pace of cash burn on the project and pursue commercial discussions without liquidity pressure.
The Longlaville facility has been touted as the world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant. The plant would have the ability to process PET waste not currently recyclable through traditional means, such as polyester textile waste.
In August, Carbios announced it was working with FCC Environment UK to explore the possibility of opening a plant using Carbios’ PET biorecycling technology in the UK. Carbios’ enzymatic depolymerization technology deconstructs PET into its most basic components to create virgin-like products.
According to Carbios, the company has not finalized negotiations with Indorama Ventures Limited, a global chemical producer that pledged 110 million Euros in 2023 for the joint venture recycling facility project. The company also has entered discussions with other unnamed public and private financiers to provide additional funding. Carbios also received 30 million Euros of non-dilutive funding from France 2030—a 54 billion Euro investment plan launched to help transform the French economy—and a commitment of 12.5 million Euros from the Grand Est Region, where the facility will be located.