A Brooklyn Startup Is Making Vodka Out of Thin Air
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A number of carbon capture startups have launched in recent years. You can add Air Co. to the list. It might be the first company to use atmospheric CO2 to produce liquor.
The Brooklyn-based distillery says that their proprietary process was inspired by photosynthesis. Like plants, Air Co.’s equipment absorbs carbon dioxide, splits the carbon and oxygen, draws in water, and utilizes the sun as a power source.
Their vodka is carbon negative, with each bottle trapping about a pound of carbon dioxide. Interestingly enough, Air Co. co-founder (and electrochemist) Stafford Sheehan says that much of the CO2 they’re capturing is being produced by nearby competitors — who distill other spirits using more traditional equipment.
Sheehan also says that their vodka is about the purest you’ll find. Ordinarily, the vodka-making process starts with fermentation. While it’s an effective way to create alcohol it also creates impurities like carbolic acid and methanols. Those compounds can be tricky to remove, and that’s a big problem when your goal is creating a spirit with a neutral flavor.
Air Co., on the other hand, creates ethanol by combining carbon dioxide molecules with water. Sheehan refers to the “metal-based catalyst” that kickstarts the process as their “secret sauce.” Distillation takes the ethanol from 10% to around 96%, at which point it’s ready to purified and diluted to 80 proof.
Air Co. vodka goes for $65 a bottle, and it’s only available at a select few establishments in New York. Wider distribution is slated for some time later in 2020.
The company’s next products could be much easier to get your hands on, but you won’t find them at a bar or liquor store. They may very well turn up at your grocery store — in the form of ethanol-based, carbon-negative cleaning products. Air Co. also has its sights set on the fragrance business.
