
Qaptis’ solution recovers carbon from combustion engines
17 May 2022

EPFL spin-off Qaptis has developed a technology capable of capturing 90% of the CO2 emitted by internal combustion engines, mainly those of trucks and boats.
There are approximately 350 million trucks and 95,000 boats in the world. Together they emit 3,440 megatons of CO2 per year, accounting for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet no solution has yet been found to decarbonise these sectors quickly and easily. This is not the case anymore, thanks to Qaptis’ system, called “kit”, which allows to capture up to 90% of CO2 emissions – as well as nitrogen oxides.
Qaptis’ innovation lies in using the engine’s heat to spin the kit and capture the CO2 as it leaves the exhaust pipe. Installation on existing vehicles is very simple and, thanks to its low weight, the kit has barely any impact on fuel consumption. As a result, Qaptis offers an attractive alternative to significantly reduce a fleet’s greenhouse gas emissions without having to replace the vehicles and the whole infrastructure for the distribution of the fuel or electricity.
Once captured, the CO2 is compressed to liquid form and stored directly on board, before being collected (e.g. at gas stations). It can then be recycled in various ways or sold to CO2 end-users.
Numerous awards and a forthcoming market entry
Born out of the Laboratory of Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering (IPESE) at the EPFL Valais Wallis campus in Sion, Qaptis has filed a patent, validated in 2019, to protect its technology. The Valais-based start-up founded in 2021 went on to win the RIE award from the Association for Energy Research and Innovation and took third place in the global finals of Climate LaunchPAD, one of the most competitive contests for sustainable startups.
The start-up was recently granted a Tech Seed loan from the Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT), which will help Qaptis finalize its prototype and proceed to the commercialization phase of its product.