Clermont-Ferrand hosts regional conference on sustainable materials

Sustainable materials will be in the spotlight on 20 January 2025 at an event organised in Clermont-Ferrand by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Entreprises regional agency and the Sustainable Materials Centre, an incubator dedicated to sustainable materials set up on the Michelin Cataroux industrial wasteland.

The day’s programme includes two round tables and four themed workshops, nearly 30 speakers and exhibitors, and a tour of the Sustainable Materials Centre. Nearly 300 people are expected to join in the discussions on the strategic issues surrounding the use of sustainable materials. Speakers from the composites sector will be taking part throughout the day.

The first round table, entitled “Sustainable materials in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region: how is the sector establishing itself as a model of industrial excellence?” will feature Fabien Gaboriaud, director of sustainable materials and the circular economy at Michelin, and Fany Allarousse, director of CSR and social and human commitment at Serge Ferrari.

The second round table, entitled “How new materials will redefine tomorrow’s sustainable applications”, will feature Xavier Pailloux, Director of the Composites Product Line at Materi’act.

Esteban Villalon, co-founder and CEO of Lavoisier Composites, will be taking part in the first workshop of the day, entitled “Customer-Supplier Relations: How should we work together?”

The impact of sustainable materials on product performance will be discussed in a workshop featuring Léa Doubtsof, head of innovation at Polymeris, Margarita Dorato and Jean-Michel Douarre, respectively R&D project manager and head of the sustainable materials research programme at Michelin, and Pierre-Yves Formagne, Resicare project manager.

The final workshop of the day will focus on eco-design and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The event will close with a visit to the Sustainable Materials Centre.

The Centre, which benefits from the industrial expertise of Michelin’s Cataroux site, houses start-ups and offers tailored support to help them develop their activities. In particular, the cluster provides its customers with an analytical chemistry platform, a process simulation service, an engineering platform, etc.

Carbios, a company specialising in the enzymatic recycling of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), has been based there since June 2022, in 10,000 m2 of refurbished premises. It was followed in June 2024 by bobine, a young plastic recycling start-up.

By 2030, the capacity of the Sustainable Materials Centre should have tripled, creating 700 jobs and supporting around twenty start-ups in the pre-industrialisation phase.