Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) unveiled an investment into cutting-edge carbon conversion research by Swansea University to create more sustainable packaging materials.
The project will explore a new way of manufacturing ethylene – one of the key components in plastic, such as the HDPE used to make plastic bottle caps.
The research aims to develop technology capable of using Co2 captured from the atmosphere as an alternative to fossil fuels used during the ethylene production process, offering a potentially more sustainable way to create plastic packaging.
“If scaled, this technology could impact both our fossil fuel use and carbon emissions and help to accelerate a low-carbon future for Coca-Cola,” said head of CCEP ventures Craig Twyford.
“We know that making our packaging materials more sustainable is key to decarbonising our business, and technology will play an important role in helping us solve this challenge,” he added.
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The project is the latest to be funded through Coca-Cola’s innovation investment engine, CCEP Ventures (CCEPV), and follows a series of investments designed to drive innovation and sustainability progress in line with CCEP’s net zero 2040 ambition.
The three-year project will initially focus on development of a highly efficient and productive CO₂ to ethylene conversion process, before evaluating scale-up options.
The announcement follows the news that CCEP, The Coca-Cola Company and seven other bottling partners from around the world have launched a separate around £109 million ($137.7 million) venture capital fund focusing on sustainability investments.
The fund will complement CCEP Ventures, which focuses on early-stage businesses, by investing in companies at the point of commercialisation.
