Swansea Uni is partnering with Coca-Cola to make bottle caps out of CO2 emissions

Coca-Cola will collaborate with Swansea University to fund a three year trial exploring the possibility of making their bottle caps out of CO2 emissions.

The new venture is part of the company’s sustainability initiative which aims to cut emissions to net zero by 2040.

This comes as the drinks company was announced as Britain’s biggest packaging polluter for the fourth year running by campaign group Surfers Against Sewage.

Business Live reports that researchers at the university will examine whether they can capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to create ethylene, which is a key element in plastic bottle tops. If they’re successful, then this technology may be able to reduce the use of fossil fuels in specific manufacturing practices, such as ones used by Coca Cola.

The project will be funded by Coca Cola Euro Pacific Partners (CCEP) ventures, an innovation investment engine of the Coca-Cola Euro Pacific Partners.

Craig Tywford, Head of CCEP ventures, told Business Live: “We are incredibly excited about the potential of this research. We know that making packaging materials more sustainable is key to decarbonising our business, and technology will play an important role in helping us solve this challenge.

“If scaled, this technology could impact both our fossil fuel sue and carbon emissions and help to accelerate a low-carbon future for CCEP”.

Professor Enrico Abdreoli, Head of Chemical Engineering at Swansea University, said: “We’re really thrilled to be working with CCEP to develop next-generation carbon dioxide utilisation technology. We take a practical approach in our research focusing specifically on sustainable applications, and fossil free ethylene production is certainly a key one.

“We build upon our strong background and expertise in carbon dioxide conversation and with the support of CCEP ventures, our common goal of delivering low carbon sustainable plastic can become a reality”.

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