Students at Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands have built an electric car that can clean the atmosphere while hitting the road.
The university students called the EV as Zero Emission Mobility (ZEM), a model vehicle that is carbon negative.
Carbon Capture Device
The students outfitted the front grills of the car with a couple of carbon capture devices to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) while the car was running.
These devices, according to the makers, can capture some 4.5 pounds of CO2 for every 20,000 miles it covers. This amount of carbon being collected is comparable to what a mature tree can capture.
Arbor Day Foundation said trees are air cleaners because they can reduce the effect of CO2 on our environment by storing the gas in their fibers.
Each mature tree, according to the group, can capture at least 48 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere in a year.
In comparison, ZEM can capture at least 45 pounds of CO2 for every 200,000 miles it is driven. The higher the mileage, the higher the carbon it can capture.
The students said emptying the car filters once full would yield the carbon it captured. They added that the carbon could either be reused or turn it into beer.
EV Does Not Emit CO2
Electric vehicles are not carbon emitters. Its carbon footprint can be traced back to the production of its lithium batteries, which process produces large volumes of carbon.
Producing electricity the EVs use to power their batteries also leaves a carbon footprint.
To solve this inevitability of leaving carbon footprints even with EVs, the students offset this carbon footprint by introducing the carbon filters that do the carbon capture while running.
Carbon Capture in Every Vehicle
The makers see the possibility of installing these carbon capture devices in every type of transportation.
If the filters can be produced in modules, they can be installed into all types of vehicles, Lars Holster, one of the 35 students, told CNET.
Some 15 percent of ZEM's lithium batteries came from the solar panels on the car's hood and roof. A plug-in was also connected behind the license plate at the back of the car.
To make ZEM a generator to provide electricity for home appliances, the students applied the bi-directional charging technology.
Sustainability
Sustainability was in the mind of the students when they designed the car.
To make ZEM sustainable in its entire life cycle, its body was 3D-printed out of recycled plastics. These plastics can be shredded and reused. The car's interior was made from pineapples, while the dash was made of recycled cooking oils.
Holster said the prototype is "the most sustainable car in the world right now."
No Plans to Sell
The team is looking at the possibility of getting a patent for ZEM's carbon capture technology.
The value of the global carbon capture market reached $1.9 billion in 2020. Industry analysts projected it to reach $7 billion by 2030.
The students said they had no plans to sell the prototype. At least for now. They are hoping the design would inspire carmakers to improve on the concept.
Big companies with a department full of engineers can do better than what 35 undergraduate students can do, Holster said.
