10 Minute Text
A recycling mastermind texts with us about enzymes, AI, and more
Carbios is a French recycling tech company that works with brands like L’Oreal, Pepsi, and Patagonia.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: Hey Emmanuel, thanks for chatting with us! Where are you working from today?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Hi, from Clermont-Ferrand.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: Beautiful — what’s the view from the office like?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
Bradley Saacks said:
B: In layman’s terms, what does Carbios do?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: We recycle plastics and textile with a biological process, based on enzymes.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: For the companies you work with, what are you doing for them and their carbon footprints?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: We have done R&D and a lot of product testing with our partners like L’Oreal, Pepsi, Patagonia and others.
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Our process manages to save at least 50% of carbon emissions compared to virgin plastics.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: Where do these savings come from?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Our recycling process uses less energy, low temperatures, no solvents. We can recycle many types of waste that are not currently recyclable like food trays and polyester fibers.
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Furthermore, we can recycle many times, much more circular.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: Is there a difference between working with a company based in Europe vs. the U.S. vs. Asia?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Most global players have taken worldwide commitments on more sustainable packaging. Therefore the approach does not differ much from one continent to another.
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Europe has more stringent regulations but other countries are catching up.
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: We have contacts to deploy our technology on a worldwide basis.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: The secret ingredient is enzymes. Is there enough production of them to scale Carbios to where you and your clients want to be?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Yes, we have teamed up with Novozymes, the largest worldwide enzymes producer to scale up.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: If everything goes according to plan, what does 2030 look like for Carbios?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: We expect to take a significant part of the worldwide recycling market with a presence in most countries. We will expand beyond PET to other polymers, like polyamides and polyolefins.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: Ambitious!
Bradley Saacks said:
B: I have to ask — what can AI do for you?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: We use AI for enzyme development. This is an accelerator for our R&D.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: How much time does it save for you?
Emmanuel Ladent said:
E: Today we can process 1 million enzymes per day, about 1000 times more than 5 years ago. Not totally linked to AI, but it does contribute.
Bradley Saacks said:
B: Thanks for chatting!