At Bathtub Gin, a reinvented lower Manhattan speakeasy, patrons may yearn for the past, but they’re sipping a vodka specially invented for a cleaner future. Air vodka is made in part from greenhouse gas emissions – specifically, captured carbon dioxide.
It’s just one of many new products being developed to harness CO2 emissions that can be extracted from different types of industries.
“We work with partners who capture that carbon dioxide before it’s released into the atmosphere, and then we use that CO2 in our process to make the alcohols we make,” said Air Company co-founder and CEO Gregory Constantine of these Emissions also produce perfume and hand sanitizer. “It’s obviously a lot better for the planet as we remove CO2 for every bottle we make.”
Distilling alcohol the old-fashioned way not only releases its emissions, it also uses a lot of water — about 35 liters of water to make one liter of distillate. Air Vodka consists of only two ingredients, CO2 and water. It separates hydrogen from the water by electrolysis and releases the oxygen. The hydrogen is then fed into a “carbon conversion reactor” system with the captured CO2. This produces ethanol, which in combination with water becomes a kind of vodka.
The scientific process at the Air Company’s laboratories is valuable for the environment, but the results don’t come cheap. The three-year-old start-up’s vodka is a luxury brand and costs around $65 a bottle. But at Bathtub Gin, the vodka gets high praise.
A bartender pours a Jigger Air Vodka, a spirit made from carbon emissions.
Nathaniel Lee | CNBC
“As soon as we tell them, ‘Hey, this is how it’s done and it has a negative carbon footprint, all these really nice things, that’s what makes them want it even more. And then they look for it[go’Wherecanwegetit?'”saidBrendanBartleybeveragedirectorandheadbartenderatBathtubGin[it[going’wherecanwegetit?'”saidBrendanBartleybeveragedirectorandheadbartenderatBathtubGin[gehen‚Wokönnenwiresbekommen?’“sagteBrendanBartleyGetränkedirektorundChefbarkeeperbeiBathtubGin[it[going’wherecanwegetit?'”saidBrendanBartleybeveragedirectorandheadbartenderatBathtubGin
The company’s sights go beyond vodka and perfume. Constantine said he expects to offer new products made from CO2 when it opens its third manufacturing facility.
“For us, vodka is really a gateway to all the other products and then to the industrial applications where our technology can be used,” he said.
Carbon capture is fast becoming big business as companies look not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to prevent necessary emissions from entering the atmosphere. Captured carbon is used to make everything from vodka to eyeglasses, laundry detergent, Coca Cola to jet fuel.
The Air Company is backed by Toyota Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Parley for the Oceans and Carbon Direct Capital Management. It has raised just over $40 million to date.