CARBIOS has signed a multi-year commercial agreement with Indorama Ventures, the world’s leading PET producer, to supply biorecycled monomers from its Longlaville plant. Indorama will repolymerise these monomers into r-PET filaments, which Michelin will then integrate into its tyre reinforcements.

Using its proprietary enzymatic recycling technology, CARBIOS will process complex PET waste into high-purity monomers at its new facility. Indorama will handle the conversion of these monomers into technical-grade filaments, enabling Michelin to enhance the sustainability of its tyres. This partnership accelerates the pre-commercialisation phase of CARBIOS’ industrial project, building on recent contracts with two major cosmetics brands for biorecycled PET.

The collaboration highlights the growing demand for circular solutions in manufacturing, with CARBIOS’ innovation playing a pivotal role in transforming waste into high-value materials. This milestone reinforces CARBIOS’ position as a leader in enzymatic recycling and supports Michelin’s commitment to sustainable mobility.

Vincent Kamel, CEO of CARBIOS, said, “This commercial agreement with Indorama Ventures marks a new step in the realisation of our industrial project. It confirms the trust of Indorama Ventures and Michelin in our PET biorecycling technology. Alongside the commercial successes already achieved in cosmetic packaging applications, this agreement illustrates our ability to deliver innovative solutions to the most demanding industries, particularly industrial filaments for tyre applications and, more broadly, textile.”

Fabien Gaboriaud, Director of Circularity and Renewable & Recycled Materials at Michelin Group, said, “This partnership is a tangible expression of our commitment to turning complex waste into high-performance materials. By integrating enzymatically recycled r-PET into our tyres, we are marking a new milestone on our journey toward achieving 100 percent renewable and recycled materials by 2050 — all while staying within planetary boundaries. It is by combining innovation, industrial excellence and close collaboration with trusted partners that we are building a strong and lasting circular model.”

Renato Boaventura, Global Market Head – Mobility at Indorama Ventures, said, “This alliance with both, CARBIOS and Michelin, underlines our commitment to plan ahead and take a leading role in shifting the industry towards circularity.”

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HS HYOSUNG has formalised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State Government of San Luis Potosí, with the signing taking place at the World Trade Center Mexico City. The event formed part of the Korea-Mexico Business Forum, held alongside the Korean economic delegation's visit to Mexico.

Attending officials included Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's Secretary of Economy, and Mario García Valdez, Secretary of Economic Development of San Luis Potosí. The two sides confirmed their shared resolve to back the company's local investment and regional growth. Separately, HS HYOSUNG's leadership met bilaterally with Secretary Ebrard to elaborate on its strategic vision and investment plans.

The agreement sets out a phased expansion of HS HYOSUNG's investments in San Luis Potosí beginning in 2027, with the goal of creating a major advanced materials production hub that bolsters supply for North American and wider global markets. The company's advanced materials span tyre cord, a flagship world-leading product, along with mobility, energy, aerospace and defence applications. Its North American operations, spanning Mexico and the United States, turn out tyre cord, airbag materials and mobility interior components for global leaders such as General Motors and Goodyear, underpinned by a highly dependable global supply chain.

Nak-yang Sung, CEO, HS HYOSUNG ADVANCED MATERIALS, said, “This investment goes beyond establishing a simple manufacturing base – it reflects our strategy to turn Mexico into a pivotal hub connecting North America with global supply networks. We are also committed to strengthening local supply chains and creating high-quality jobs to contribute directly to the region's industrial ecosystem.”

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Kumho Petrochemical Group is steering its business towards research-driven, higher-value outputs as oversupply and soft demand continue to weigh on the worldwide petrochemical sector. The Seoul-based group outlined plans to boost spending on speciality chemicals, sustainable materials and novel production methods, a push intended to lift profits while building a foundation for future expansion.

Underlying the move is a deliberate evolution in the group's identity, from a bulk materials vendor to a provider of technology-backed solutions that address shifting customer requirements and stricter environmental rules. A central element of that effort involves widening the speciality lineup, exemplified by added capacity for solution styrene butadiene rubber, a synthetic rubber that enhances durability, rolling resistance and tread wear in high-performance electric vehicle tyres.

Environmental initiatives form another pillar. Facilities built by the company can trap approximately 76,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, while separately developed technology turns recycled acrylonitrile butadiene styrene sourced from scrapped household appliances into automotive-grade interior components that satisfy performance standards and generate fewer emissions than conventional methods. The group has also joined forces with POSCO Future M and BEI on anode-free lithium-metal battery development.

Parallel technology-focused programmes are underway at affiliated units. Kumho P&B Chemicals is formulating water-based epoxy resins that curb volatile organic compound releases while incorporating more bio-based inputs to reduce carbon intensity. Kumho Mitsui Chemicals is advancing bio-based polyurethane systems and electric vehicle materials, alongside debottlenecking work to add 100,000 tonnes of annual methylene diphenyl diisocyanate capacity. Kumho Polychem, meanwhile, is targeting ethylene propylene diene monomer through low-temperature polymerisation paired with energy-efficiency improvements.

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Birla Carbon has confirmed a price increase of up to 15 percent for its Speciality Materials products across Asia, scheduled to take effect on 1 October 2026. The company pointed to significant and sustained rises in feedstock costs, driven partly by ongoing geopolitical instability and disruptions in global feedstock markets, as the reason behind the adjustment.

Although Birla Carbon pursued operational efficiencies, supply chain optimisation and disciplined cost management to soften the impact, the scale and persistence of the cost escalation left a price adjustment unavoidable. The company's sales teams will engage customers directly to explain the details and help them navigate the transition.

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ACE Laboratories, an independent ISO/IEC 17025-accredited polymer testing laboratory, has partnered with Abdallah Consulting, LLC, a prominent tyre pyrolysis advisory firm, to introduce VericarbSM. This independent certification programme verifies that materials marketed as recovered carbon black (rCB) meet established criteria for rCB.

Recovered carbon black, derived from end-of-life tyres via pyrolysis, serves as a sustainable substitute for virgin carbon black in rubber and polymer applications. However, the emerging market has lacked the standardisation and independent verification that established supply chains provide. VericarbSM addresses this gap through independent material characterisation and rubber performance data, offering stakeholders a consistent basis for evaluating rCB products.

For producers, certification accelerates market entry and improves buyer approval rates. Consumers gain more capable suppliers and reduced evaluation time, while investors benefit from clearer volume sizing and fewer costly test failures. The programme is jointly administered by both organisations.

Erick Sharp, CEO, ACE Laboratories, said, “The rCB market has enormous potential, but growth has been held back by uncertainty about material quality and consistency. VericarbSM gives producers a way to prove their product and gives buyers the independent data they need to say yes.”

Dave Abdallah, Founder, Abdallah Consulting, said, “One key reason for the delayed growth of recovered carbon black is lack of product performance information in the customer’s language. ASTM standards are critical; in fact, most testing done in the process follows ASTM methods. But customers relate to a product better when its performance is shown in applications relevant to them. VericarbSM solves the language issue by showing verified rCB in terms of rubber performance while simultaneously adding credibility via third-party analysis and reporting.”

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