A solar-powered electric vehicle removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The name of this great new vehicle, known as Zem, is Silver, Sleek, and Sporty. The Zem is unlike a regular car that has been given a luxurious makeover. This is an essential component of the increasingly toxic atmosphere that we live in today. The body and frame are both 3D printed with recycled plastic as the material.
In addition, this work of science fiction art was conceived and crafted by a group of thirty-five undergraduates studying at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. According to Louise de Laat, the team manager of the project, the automobile is a cutting-edge design that incorporates various technologies.
The carbon capture device will contribute to reducing emissions produced by the one billion passenger cars in the world. A mechanism that consumes carbon. Students from every academic discipline are encouraged to participate in TU/annual Ecomotive innovation projects, which are always open to student collaboration. Since 2013, they have been giving students the assignment to work on projects involving the construction of environmentally friendly vehicles.
Even though the year 2021’s goal was “zero-emission mobility,” which is where the car’s name, “ZEM,” came from, numerous sponsored partners assisted in incorporating various technologies. Inclusion of lithium-ion batteries manufactured by the Dutch company Cleantron and solar panels manufactured by Watllab, each capable of supplying up to 15 percent of the vehicle’s charge. In addition, a life cycle analysis was performed by the SimaPro software to determine the carbon emissions produced during the vehicle’s manufacturing, use, and disposal. What is the mechanism behind the car? Under the car, Zem has a filter positioned on either side of each front wheel. When driving, the air goes through the filters, and the carbon dioxide clings to a beautiful grain.
Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere should be your top priority when designing and constructing an electric vehicle (EV) charging station. After some time has passed, the company can recycle it to make other fuels, such as hydrogen, free of contaminants. Every 20,000 miles, the filters can only remove 2 kilograms (4.41 pounds) of CO2 from the air. It only accounts for 0.04 percent of an average vehicle’s annual emissions and less than a tenth of the CO2 an average tree absorbs yearly. Despite this, the students are still thinking about ways to improve its functionality and the technology it uses to capture carbon.
Moonshot Thinking
According to the International Energy Agency, as a result, only 44 million tonnes of CO2 were captured in the year 2020. This represents only 13 percent of the amount that was desired. It would appear that Elon Musk is considering investing in carbon capture technology.
On the other hand, the carbon capture and storage market are expected to be worth $7 billion by 2028. According to Van de Weijer, there will be significant environmental problems in the foreseeable future. It would be wonderful if something came out of (Zem) as a spin-off because it might be able to assist with addressing this critical problem.
Industry Vs. Innovators
The plan called for the team to finish building the car in May and then travel across the United States in August. Okkels has stated that in the future, we want to create additional examples like ZEM since we know that the sector is progressing slowly in terms of sustainability.
The primary industry in which we compete has significantly more experience than the 35 students responsible for making this happen. Okkels claims they could experiment more freely because fewer legal restrictions were placed on small businesses. “All we’re doing is showing what’s feasible for the larger industry,” the spokesperson said. Unfortunately for the team, driving Zem was not an option because 3-D printed vehicles are not permitted on public roads in the United States. The following group will cooperate with various road authorities to assist in constructing a road-legal vehicle.
