Michelin Advances Plans for ‘Sustainable Materials Centre’

Michelin has provided an update on its ‘sustainable materials centre’ in Clermont-Ferrand, France, which is expected to host eight companies by the end of the year. The centre, located within Michelin’s Cataroux Innovation Park, was inaugurated in 2024 to support cleantech companies in scaling up technologies from demo to industrial production. The latest additions to the centre include Syntecica, Agreement, and Biotech Open Platform, which will begin advanced fermentation trials in September. Other occupants include polymer recycler Carbios, plastics recycling company Coil, Michelin’s own ResiCare business, and environmental consultancy Numtech. Michelin has reiterated its target for the centre to host around 20 companies by 2030, which is expected to create around 700 jobs. The company has also announced changes to the centre’s management, with Patrice Kefalas taking over as director, alongside technical director Margarita Dorato and development director Stephane Gegout. Dorato has spent over 22 years in Michelin’s R&D organisation and previously led the BlackCycle and BioButterfly projects focused on recycled and renewable raw materials.