I am so proud of my friend Steve Jbara, a Royal Oak native, on using his incredible technology to better serve our community during this crisis. It is no surprise that we are in need of cleaning supplies, toilet paper and hand sanitizer throughout this coronavirus pandemic. These products are sold out at every store you could imagine. A year ago, Steve launched the world's first carbon-negative vodka, using captured CO2 instead of the yeast that is used to make alcohol. In response to this crisis, Air Co. is using the same captured CO2 to make hand sanitizer instead.
“As of last week, we temporarily shifted our entire vodka production efforts to make a carbon-negative hand sanitizer,” the company wrote in a statement today. “Sanitizer is 70% ethanol, our technology’s main output, and we will produce as many bottles as we can during this crisis.” The company is working with local officials to donate the bottles it produces to the institutions that most need it.