Road transport contributes about 16 percent of global carbon dioxide, but what if our cars could start capturing these emissions?
Engineering students have submitted their design for the world’s first ‘carbon neutral car’, which removes and stores carbon dioxide from the air as you drive down the road.
Air enters through a grille at the front of the vehicle, passing through a filter that separates and stores the greenhouse gas.
The electric vehicle, known as ‘Zem’, was designed by the TU/ecomotive team at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.
His prototype also has solar panels on the roof and hood, allowing it to be used as an external battery for a house.
Scientists have unveiled their design for the world’s first ‘carbon neutral car’, which removes and stores carbon dioxide from the air as you drive down the road.
The electric vehicle was designed by the TU/ecomotive team at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. Air enters through the grille at the front of the vehicle, which then passes through a filter that separates and stores greenhouse gases.
Zem’s filter currently reaches capacity after about 200 miles, when it has collected about 30 g of gaseous carbon dioxide. The filters could be cleaned or replaced, and the captured carbon dioxide could be emptied, while the electric car is being charged.
“We are cleaning the air as we drive and our goal is to become completely CO2 neutral,” said Louise de Laat, team principal.
‘It’s still really a proof of concept, but we can already see that we will be able to increase the capacity of the filter in the coming years.
‘CO2 capture is a prerequisite for offsetting emissions during production and recycling.’
Zem’s filter currently reaches capacity after about 200 miles, when it has collected about 30 g of gaseous carbon dioxide.
Filters could be cleaned or replaced, and captured carbon dioxide could be emptied, while the electric car is being charged.
While it’s unclear what will happen to the gas after it’s collected from the filter, past projects used CO2 to make building materials and baking soda, or stored it underground.
The team claims that up to two kilograms of carbon dioxide could be removed for every 12,800 miles the car travels per year using their ‘direct air capture technology’.
If the technology were to be implemented in the millions of cars on the world’s roads, it would have the potential to make a real contribution to reducing greenhouse gases.
The engineering students, who previously created cars made from recycled plastic waste, also designed the car so that as much of it as possible can be recycled when it reaches the end of its useful life.
Its interiors are also made from sustainable materials like pineapple leather and recycled plastics, and its windows are made from polycarbonate.
The engineers, who have previously created cars made from recycled plastic waste, designed the car so that as much as possible can be recycled when it reaches the end of its life.
The Zem’s filter currently reaches capacity after about 200 miles, but the filters can be cleaned and the captured carbon can be emptied into a tank while the car is being charged.
The car interiors are made from sustainable pineapple leather and recycled plastics.
Solar panels on the roof of the car allow it to also be used as an external battery for a house.
A spokesperson for the team said: ‘Another upcoming technology to be implemented in Zem is bi-directional charging.
“Two-way charging technology makes it possible for cars to power homes when renewable energy is not currently being generated.
“You can see Zem as a kind of external battery for your house, providing green energy to the house when needed.
“Two-way charging technology has been combined with solar panels that are deployed on the roof of the car.
“In this way, Zem takes advantage of both the batteries and the roof space to make the vehicle and its surroundings more sustainable, even when not driving.”
Solar panels on the roof allow the car to also be used as an external battery for a house.
“We want to tickle the industry by showing what’s already possible,” said Nikki Okkels, the team’s external relations manager.
‘If 35 students can design, develop and build a nearly carbon-neutral car in one year, then there are also opportunities and possibilities for the industry.
“We call on the industry to rise to the challenge and are of course happy to think along with them.
‘We haven’t finished developing yet and we want to take big steps in the coming years. We warmly invite car manufacturers to come and have a look.’
Zem’s announcement comes just over a year after electric car company Polestar announced plans to create a fully climate-neutral car by 2030.
To achieve this, it hopes to eradicate all carbon emissions from its production process using renewable energy throughout the supply chain, recycled materials and innovative design.
Zem’s announcement comes just over a year after electric car company Polestar announced its plans to create a fully climate-neutral car by 2030. The Polestar 2 (pictured) will receive a sustainability declaration.
Scientists are developing a train car that can remove 3,000 tons of CO2 from the air per year
As it stands, rail travel is not carbon neutral, with travel accounting for 0.4 ounces (14 grams) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger mile.
However, that could change with a new train that actively removes CO2 from the air as it moves.
A US-based startup called CO2Rail Company has been working with engineers from the University of Sheffield and the University of Toronto to develop huge vents that take in air as the train moves.
The CO2 can then be separated from the air, turned into a liquid, and stored inside the car until it can be emptied.
The researchers believe this is a more cost-effective solution than other direct air capture (DAC) solutions, as the cars can be retrofitted to trains already in service.
They claim that each car could remove up to 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year in the short term.
read more here
Illustration of the CO2Rail train car that can actively remove carbon dioxide from the air as it moves. Carbon dioxide (CO2) can be separated from the air, turned into a liquid and stored inside the car until it can be emptied.