The global beverage industry is one of the largest users of CO2 in the world for the production of bubbles in carbonated drinks – using 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola HBC – the world’s second largest Coca-Cola anchor bottler, is working with Climeworks to pioneer the Swiss company’s breakthrough technology in the beverage industry.
Climeworks delivers clean, air-filtered CO2 to its customers, while giving them the ability to reverse their emissions.
Drink carbonation could provide the commercial platform needed to deploy DAC on industrial scales, bridging the gap between today’s first commercial installations and the scale of production required for gigaton applications like renewable fuel production and large-scale carbon dioxide removal.
The collaboration will enable Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland to source the CO2 needed for carbonated beverages from a sustainable means and provide a market for further development of technology that is of great importance for achieving the United Nations set climate goals.
Source: Coca-Cola
In order to guarantee the highest purity standards required for using CO2 in beverages, Climeworks works with Pentair Union Engineering, a world leader in purification and liquefaction of high quality CO2.
Valser Brand Manager Jana Luecking said, “The traditional mineral water from the Valser mountains is closely linked with nature due to its origins and makes a further step towards sustainability. We are delighted that Valser will pioneer this promising technology.”
Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland General Manager Nigel Davis added, “We are proud to be the first beverage company in the world to drive the development of this groundbreaking technology. Sustainability is part of our strategic business priorities. We are constantly looking for ways to further reduce our environmental footprint in everything we do. We are all the more pleased that we can now support a local Swiss company.”
Climeworks Co-Founder and CEO Jan Wurzbacher, commented, “Entering the beverage market with Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland continues our path of commercialisation of our DAC technology, which began with the world’s first commercial facility in May 2017. We are excited about the opportunity to work with a leader in the beverage industry as part of our overarching goal of removing one percent of global CO2 emissions by 2025.”
“The pioneering plant in Hinwil, Switzerland was followed in October 2017 with the launch of the CarbFix2 project in Hellisheidi, Iceland, which uses geothermal heat as an energy source to capture CO2 and then store it in basalt rock. Climeworks is excited by the chance to collaborate with a beverage industry leader as part of their overarching goal of capturing one per cent of CO2 emissions by 2025.”
CO2 Summit 2019
Climeworks will be among the speakers at gasworld’s CO2 Summit 2019 in Austria in March, to provide an updated talk on its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology.
CO2 supply has become a significant issue, not only in Europe but also across other regions in the world. The summer of 2018 will be remembered for the ‘CO2 crisis’ in Europe and Mexico, while there were significant concerns in the US as well.
The need for discussion on future sourcing is, therefore, arguably more pressing than ever before. The 2019 CO2 Summit will also continue to explore the new, the trending, and the traditional applications which are driving demand.
Climeworks’ Daniel Egger, Head of Marketing and Sales, will take to the stage at the event to discuss DAC as an alternative sourcing route for CO2 supply, while other guest speakers include Heineken, CarbonCure, Fertiliser Week, and Union Engineering.
For more information on the Summit and how to get involved, visit www.gasworldconferences.com.