Vodka From Thin Air: An Unusual Climate Prize Hits a Coronavirus Snag

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/climate/xprize-carbon-coronavirus.html

Source:  By Christopher Flavelle, The New York Times.

Excerpt: ...The five-year competition, the Carbon XPrize, was designed to create a financial incentive to capture carbon dioxide and use it profitably, instead of releasing it. ...as the Brooklyn vodka makers — along with the nine other finalists from as far afield as Nova Scotia (stronger concrete), India (an ingredient in pharmaceuticals) and China (a plastics replacement) — were approaching the finish line, the competition has been delayed by the coronavirus crisis. ...Mr. Niven wrote his thesis on how to turn carbon dioxide into concrete.... Dimensional Energy, with Mr. Salfi as chief executive. The technology uses concentrated sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into industrial energy sources like syngas, which is used to produce jet fuel, diesel and other liquid fuels. ...Air Co. entered its vodka in a blind taste test at last year’s Luxury Masters competition and won a gold medal....

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