Carbios: Before the General Meeting, Shareholders Challenge Partnership with Chinese Wankai
Carbios faces pressure from some of its shareholders ahead of its major annual meeting. ADISECT, an association representing individual investors, is contesting the terms of the strategic partnership concluded with Chinese group Wankai New Materials and is questioning the governance of the French biorecycling specialist.
Questions About Information Shared with Wankai
The main point of tension concerns the access granted to Wankai to Carbios' teams and technical information. According to ADISECT, the Chinese group has had privileged access for several months to the company's know-how, its Process Book, and technical, industrial, and intellectual property data. The association requests that Carbios specify the exact nature of the information shared and the protection mechanisms put in place. It links this issue to the acquisition, mentioned by the press, of a patent by Wankai in the field of PET recycling. At this stage, ADISECT does not demonstrate any illicit technology transfer but believes that the concurrence of these elements justifies detailed explanations from the company. The association also states that it has repeatedly requested, since December 2025, clarifications from the board of directors on the terms of the partnership and the guarantees surrounding the exchanges with Wankai, without receiving the expected clarifications.
A Case Presented as Sensitive for Technological Sovereignty
Beyond the strictly commercial framework, ADISECT places this partnership within a context of technological sovereignty. Advanced plastic recycling, particularly of PET, is presented by the association as a strategic technology, capable of reducing dependence on fossil raw materials and structuring part of the large-scale circular industry. The association also draws attention to Wankai's shareholding structure, mentioning the presence among its main shareholders of an entity linked to the Yangtze industrial fund ecosystem and Chinese public structures. It believes that this configuration should lead French public authorities to examine the file more closely. Again, the debate goes beyond the mere relationship between two companies: it concerns the ability of a French green chemistry player to protect its technological assets within the framework of an international industrial partnership.
Questions About Carbios' Industrial Timeline
ADISECT finally points out what it considers an inconsistency in Carbios' recent communication. The association recalls that the company had previously presented its development as sufficiently advanced to justify restructuring decisions within its process engineering and research teams. However, the announcement on June 2, regarding the postponement of the factory project in China, the need for additional R&D work, and the delay of the 5 million euros investment announced by Wankai, now raises questions about the real degree of technological maturity and the industrial timeline of the group. For ADISECT, these elements require clarification at the general meeting. The partnership with Wankai, initially presented as a strategic step in the industrialization of Carbios' technology, thus becomes a matter of governance, transparency, and trust between the company and its shareholders.
