13 January 2024 , 21:12
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Cheers! A booze firm says its found an eco-friendly way to get merry while saving the planet.
Tech start-up Aircohol is creating vodka-like spirits using nothing but climate-warming gas carbon dioxide. And for us booze-loving Brits they say it could be sold in the UK within just three years.
Founder Simo Hämäläinen said early taste tests gave notes of “grass, earth and sweetness”, which he insisted was unusual but good.
However the climate impact is Aircohol's main selling point as it claims to be able to halve the drink industry’s carbon footprint.
Research shows alcohol production emits the same amount of greenhouse gases each year as all the cars owned in the United States - around 276million. Simo said: “We could be seeing Aircohol in the UK within the next two or three years. It’s one of our target markets. In Finland our plan is to release something to the market this year.”
The company's secret weapon is a bioreactor (Aircohol) Aircohol’s key technology is a bioreactor which converts carbon dioxide into alcohol through a rapid two-day fermentation process with no greenhouse gas emissions. The alcohol can then be distilled - much like vodka - into a strong spirit of up to 60% which is ready for consumption. Beers can also be made but would require additional ingredients such as malts.
Aircohol, founded in 2022, says its process cuts carbon emissions and preserves raw materials like wheat and barley, typically used in alcohol production.
Last year the firm started a partnership with Finland-based brewery Brukett which produces drinks including Magners cider. Aircohol, which has six staff, recently secured €2.4m (£2m) in investment and says it is in talks with major alcohol companies around the world.