French tyre maker Michelin is partnering with Bobine – a start-up based on the plastic recycling market – and that has joined Michelin’s Center for Sustainable Materials at Parc Cataroux in Clermont-Ferrand. The two aim to ramp up the market launch of a new plastics recycling technology that enables the production of recycled plastics from currently non-recyclable waste, in order to contribute to the development of sustainable and circular material production solutions.
With 50% recycled plastic in “contact-sensitive” packaging by 2040 (EU Single-Use Plastics Directive), mandatory source separation of plastic waste for companies (State at the Service of a Trusting Society, or ESSOC law), and the end of single-use plastic packaging by 2040 (Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy, or AGEC law), French and European regulations are being strengthened to meet ambitious environmental goals. This demonstrates that renewable materials are a central focus today, particularly on the plastic market, of which the environmental impact can no longer be ignored. Today’s companies face a major challenge: to ramp up their procurement strategy for circular materials, and to conduct research and development into new recycling solutions.
Thus, based on its chemical recycling technology, Bobine enables the production of food-grade recycled plastics from non-recyclable plastic waste.
For Michelin, the partnership fully aligns with the mission of the Center for Sustainable Materials, conceived as a launchpad for the industrialisation of circular technologies: providing young promising start-ups with its facilities, teams, and expertise in guiding and scaling up technologies involving complex chemical reactions.
“We are delighted to collaborate with bobine to develop this groundbreaking technology for the chemical recycling of plastics,” said Pierre Robert, Director of the Center for Sustainable Materials. “At Michelin, we are convinced that technological progress will contribute to addressing the environmental challenges that the world must face. This partnership represents an important step in that approach.”
Through this partnership and the expertise of Michelin, Bobine hopes to develop the first test version of this technology and to ensure the shortest possible time-to-market. The project’s launch at Michelin is scheduled for summer 2024, with the aim of achieving initial results by this autumn.
Vincent Simonneau, CEO at bobine, added, “The partnership with the Center for Sustainable Materials at Parc Cataroux provides us with a unique opportunity to accelerate the development and market entry of our chemical plastic recycling technology. This perfectly aligns with our goal of rapidly scaling up the technology, and it reaffirms our industrial DNA and our commitment to open innovation.”
The technology of Bobine was developed by the Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health (ICPEES, UMR 7515), a joint research unit based on a partnership between the French National Research Council (CNRS) and the University of Strasbourg (UdS). After three years of R&D, a patent was filed for the technology, the property of the SNRS and two industrial companies that contributed to its development, SICAT and BLACKLEAF. The two industrials decided to found the company Bobine for the development and industrialisation of this technology. SATT CONECTUS Alsace, the administrator of the patent, has granted bobine an exclusive license to exploit it.