May 20, 2026 12:59

French company Carbios, which develops enzymatic processes for recycling plastic waste, has appointed Benoît Grenot, pictured, as its new CEO. On June 1, he will succeed Vincent Kamel, who has decided to retire at the age of 64.

Grenot is a French manager and an engineering graduate of the prestigious École des Mines de Paris. He spent many years at the Saint-Gobain group, including in Asia, before joining specialty chemicals company Baikowski, where he served as CEO for more than ten years.

“I am honored by the trust placed in me by the Board of Directors to assume these new responsibilities, and I intend to build on the work already underway,” Grenot said. “I will also ensure that all teams, whose strength I already fully appreciate, are mobilized around the Company’s strategic priorities, with a spirit of commitment and sustainable performance.”

Carbios has confirmed its goal of building an industrial plant in Longlaville, France, for the biorecycling of PET through enzymatic depolymerization, with production expected to start by the first half of 2028.

In the process developed by the French company, an enzyme depolymerizes PET and polyester fibres, returning them to their original constituents: terephthalic acid and monoethylene glycol. After a purification stage, these can be reused to produce polyester again with a quality that, according to the company, is comparable to virgin material and can be recycled again at end of life.

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