Carbios outlines plans for its Chinese plant with Wankai

The first quarter of 2026 is expected to see construction begin on a biorecycling facility for plastics and synthetic fibres, led by France’s Carbios and China’s Wankai, a subsidiary of Zhink Group. The shape of this project, announced in 2024, is now becoming clearer.

Carbios, a French specialist in biorecycling by depolymerisation, has indicated that a joint venture will be created for this project. It will be majority-owned by Wankai, which will provide the funding. Once the agreement is finalised, this will be the first licence for the technology developed by Carbios.

The process developed by Carbios enables used water bottles, food trays and polyester textile fibres to be recycled using a plant-derived protein (enzyme) developed by the company. The process produces two essential PET plastic monomers, terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG), for the production of recycled plastic. The future Chinese site could process 50,000 tonnes of waste each year.

“This agreement marks a key step in the international deployment of our technology, and an important milestone in the implementation of our licensing model,” says Carbios CEO Vincent Kamel. “This cooperation with Wankai, the third-largest PET producer in China, will enable us to produce enzymatically recycled PET and thus make a concrete contribution to the transition to a more circular, low-carbon PET industry.”

In addition to China, Carbios is also working on adaptations of its technology in Turkey and the UK. Its project for a French plant in Longlaville (Meurthe-et-Moselle) is designed to recycle the equivalent of 300 million T-shirts (at least 90% synthetic) or two billion coloured bottles every year.

This project was postponed for a time in view of the economic difficulties faced by the company, which is seeking to secure both its raw material supplies and its markets. The agreement with Wankai is strategic, as its parent company, Zhink, is the world’s fourth-largest PET producer.

The group recently announced that it had raised 84 million euros in the first half of 2025, and had 72 million euros in cash.