Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has received $1.3m in Australian government funding as part of the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment program. The funds will be used to install PET bottle self-manufacture or 'blow-fill' technology.
The new funding will support the company's energy-saving project at its Richlands facility in Queensland, Australia, that will help produce the lightest bottles in the Coca-Cola system globally.
According to the company, the technology is expected to result in a 32% reduction in carbon emissions intensity on the production line for 1.25l, 1.5l and 2l bottles.
CCA Queensland supply chain manager Dermot Hawkins said the technology would increase bottle filling efficiency, increase production line performance, and cut down CO2 wastage during the carbonation process, besides reducing energy costs.
"The technology will save CCA's Richlands facility up to $285,000 a year in energy costs," Hawkins said.
The new blending and filling technology will be able to reduce the quantity of plastic in bottles by up to 35%, cut down energy usage by 40%, enable carbon savings of 27.07kt and energy saving of 234.6TJ.
CCA will invest $450m to install the technology in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
