A new system developed by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (ETHL) could help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of the logistics industry. The system captures the emissions directly from the exhaust of trucks and stores them for later use. The device, developed by ETHL spin-off Quaptis, collects the exhaust gases and separates the CO2 from nitrogen and oxygen using a special powder. Once the powder is saturated with CO2, it is heated with the engine’s waste heat, releasing the CO2 and compressing it into a liquid state for efficient storage in a tank behind the driver’s cab. The entire process requires minimal additional energy and does not increase fuel consumption.
The collected CO2 can be pumped to freight terminals and stored in large tanks for use as a raw material in various industrial applications, including the production of fertilizers, building materials, and firefighting and refrigeration agents. It can also be used to produce synthetic fuels known as eFuels. The system is still in the prototype stage, with Quaptis planning to test it on a truck under real traffic conditions by the end of 2024. The data collected from the test will be used to optimize the device and bring it to market.
The logistics industry is responsible for a significant portion of carbon emissions, and reducing these emissions is crucial to meeting climate goals. The new system developed by ETHL researchers offers a promising solution for capturing and storing emissions from trucks, which are still largely powered by combustion engines in the European Union. The ability to use the collected CO2 as a raw material for various industrial applications and synthetic fuels further enhances the system’s potential impact on reducing carbon emissions.
