Coca-Coca Europacific Partners joins research group to convert captured carbon to sugar

25 Aug 2022 --- Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) is partnering with the University of California Berkeley (UCB), US, to develop methods of converting captured carbon (CO2) into sugar. The collaboration hopes its work will slash the emissions of some of the world’s most polluting supply chains. 

Established between CCEP Ventures and UC Berkeley’s Peidong Yang Research Group, the project aims to create packaging and other essential raw materials from industrial waste. 

Last year, the Peidong Yang Group received a prize from NASA for a viable prototype for CO2 conversion to sugar for potential use on long-haul space missions. 

“Air to sugar conversion could significantly impact our ability to preserve the natural world,” says Dr. Peidong Yang. 

“This is a bold, scientific vision that would bring immediate environmental benefits, fundamentally transforming the production and distribution of goods across the world. We are pleased to be working with CCEP Ventures on research that could make a significant impact on our ability to create a more sustainable future.” 

The carbon to sugar process.Coca-Cola from carbon 
CCEP Ventures’ initial investment with UCB will support foundational research that will focus on enabling the production of sugar from CO2 on-site and at an industrial level, with the expectation of future investments to drive scale – from lab to pilot phase.

CCEP says the investment demonstrates the role innovation can play in its journey to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. 

The development of lab-scale prototypes could make the generation of essential raw and packaging materials more environmentally sustainable in the long term. It could also reduce some of the largest CO2 contributors in supply chains while saving material, transportation and logistics costs.

“CCEP Ventures is helping us find solutions to industry challenges and provide funding to make these foundational technologies a reality,” says Craig Twyford, head of CCEP Ventures. 

“We’re excited to be involved in this project that could lead the industry in the development of transformational technology capable of converting CO₂ into more complex, usable goods.”

Sweet circle 
If driven to an industrial scale, carbon capture could provide an answer to crop production issues by creating synthetic sugar – potentially for use in soft drinks like Coca-Cola. This, in turn, would cut related energy usage. 

Since agricultural ingredients, including sugar, amount to approximately a quarter of CCEP’s overall carbon footprint, the technology could not only reduce emissions associated with sugar manufacturing processes but also positively contribute to optimizing land usage as less arable land becomes available due to the global population growth.

In the longer term, this technology may also make the conversion of CO2 into PET plastic more efficient by reducing the need for crude oil in the manufacturing process and significantly lowering costs.

Earlier this month, CCEP launched a new supply chain financing program in collaboration with Rabobank. The duo is aiming to enhance their respective ESG performances by rewarding suppliers who enhance environmental sustainability across the board and include sustainability-related KPIs that, if attained, would result in discounts from the initial funding rate.

By Louis Gore-Langton