ATLANTA — The Coca-Cola Co. has announced partnership agreements with Virent, Gevo and Avantium to help make its PlantBottle packing 100% from plant-based materials. The PlantBottle packaging is currently made with up to 30% plant-based material.

“While the technology to make bio-based materials in a lab has been available for years, we believe Virent, Gevo and Avantium are companies that possess technologies that have high potential for creating them on a global commercial scale within the next few years,” said Rick Frazier, vice-president of commercial product supply for Coca-Cola. “This is a significant R.&D. investment in packaging innovation and is the next step toward our vision of creating all of our plastic packaging from responsibly sourced plant-based materials.”

The PlantBottle packaging currently consists of 30% MGE and 70% PTA. The goal is for the PTA to be replaced with plant-based materials. The company estimates that in the first two years, PlantBottle packaging helped save emissions of more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

“Virent’s long-term agreements with The Coca-Cola Co. are pioneering milestones in the commercialization of our technology to produce plant-based materials,” said Lee Edwards, chief executive officer of Virent. “Our patented technology features catalytic chemistry to convert plant-based sugars into a full range of products identical to those made from petroleum, including bio-based paraxylene — a key component needed to deliver 100% plant-based PET packaging.”