Vodka Startup Is Making Hand Sanitizers For Donation

Air Co. is a startup from New York, the U.S. The company has a very special process to make vodka. Instead of using fermenting grains, Air Co. uses air for its vodka manufacturing process.

Specifically, the company uses a small machine that runs on solar energy suck in carbon dioxide which is split into oxygen and carbon. The carbon is then dissolved into water and goes through a few other processes to become pure ethanol.

Last year, Air Co. received awards from NASA and Xprize for its environmental-friendly process.

Now, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Air Co. said that it would stop producing vodka and redirect its tech to make hand sanitizer. Since ethanol is the main ingredient in hand sanitizer, all Air Co. needs to do is higher the level of its alcohol content to around 60 to 95%.

According to Gregory Constantine, founder, and CEO of Air Co., the company was founded to fulfill a mission of social good. That is why the startup wants to contribute its efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

Although hand sanitizer is sold out in stores around the US as well as e-commerce platform Amazon, Air Co. has announced that its product would not be for sales. All hand sanitizers from Air Co. will be donated and distributed to all citizens.

The company is also committed to operating at full capacity to meet the needs of the people. Constantine said that at first, the startup only planned to shift part of its factory to manufacture hand sanitizers. However, after realizing that this product is essential in the fight against the pandemic, Air Co. decided to focus on making hand sanitizer only.

The startup is capable of making 1,000 50-ml hand sanitizers. Air Co. will try to continue making hand sanitizer for as long as it can.