New York – A new brand of premium vodka is made by turning captured carbon into alcohol.
Instead of grains and yeast, Air Co’s vodka is made from captured CO2. Using a process ‘inspired by photosynthesis in nature’, the start-up’s patented system uses electricity to turn carbon from the air into pure ethanol. While a typical bottle of vodka produces up to 13 pounds of greenhouse gases, each bottle of Air Co’s vodka removes a pound of CO2, making it carbon-negative.
‘Our technology uses carbon dioxide and water along with electricity to create alcohol,’ says Stafford Sheehan, an electrochemist and co-founder of Air Co, which makes covetable products that capture excess carbon from the air. Its vodka, which retails for £50 ($65, €58) a bottle, is being launched in select restaurants and retailers, including Michelin-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park and online platform Drizly.
With its carbon-negative vodka, Air Co is propelling the trend for Climate-positive Foods forward.