Remora’s Mobile Carbon Capture: Transforming Semitruck Emissions
How Remora’s revolutionary carbon capture device could decarbonize trucking fleets and reshape freight transport emissions.
Remora is at the forefront of a transportation revolution, introducing a mobile carbon capture device that has the potential to dramatically reduce the enormous carbon footprint of the nation’s semitruck fleet. While electrification and alternate fuels slowly make headway, Remora’s technology offers an immediate, impactful solution for decarbonizing long-haul trucking—a critical but stubbornly challenging sector to green.
Why Focus on Semitrucks?
Semi-trucks, the lifeline of the American economy, move nearly every product across vast distances. Yet, collectively, they emit about 340 million tons of CO2 per year, accounting for approximately 5% of the entire U.S. carbon output. The high energy needs, reliance on diesel, and logistical complexities of trucking make rapid decarbonization difficult—a problem that Remora directly addresses.
The Challenge: Limitations of Electrification
While battery-powered vehicles are gaining ground for personal transport, their applicability to long-haul trucks remains limited by:
- Weight: Batteries large enough for cross-country trips are extremely heavy, reducing available payload and harming efficiency.
- Range constraints: Range anxiety is a real issue for fleets operating across thousands of miles, with limited charging infrastructure.
- Downtime: Battery trucks require significant charging time, often hours instead of minutes for a diesel fill-up, affecting logistics and fleet utilization.
Because of these hurdles, decarbonizing the transport sector needs solutions beyond electrification, at least in the short to medium term.
Remora’s Solution: Mobile Carbon Capture
Remora’s mobile carbon capture device is designed to be retrofitted onto existing diesel semitrucks. Here’s how it works:
- Deployment: The device is installed between the tractor and trailer, directly tapping into the tailpipe exhaust stream.
- On-the-fly Capture: As the truck travels, Remora’s proprietary technology actively filters and stores carbon dioxide as it exits the exhaust system.
- CO2 Offloading: Once the truck reaches a fueling station or logistics hub, the captured CO2 is offloaded for industrial reuse or permanent sequestration.
How the Technology Works
At the heart of Remora’s solution is a set of high-efficiency compressors and vacuum pumps, capable of separating 60–80% of the CO2 from diesel exhaust right now, with future targets of achieving up to 95% efficiency. The current system weighs about 2.5 tons empty and up to 4 tons when full, needing emptying roughly every 500 miles. Key technical highlights include:
- Uses heated zeolite or other advanced adsorbent to trap CO2.
- Carefully engineered to minimize energy draw and payload loss.
- Captures up to 169 metric tons of CO2 per truck annually1.
- System is modular and standardized for broad fleet deployment.
Economic and Environmental Impact
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| Aspect | Impact & Details |
|---|---|
| Annual CO2 Capture (Per Truck) | Up to 169 metric tons |
| Fuel Efficiency Change | About 10% reduction due to device weight and heating energy |
| Payload Impact | Minimal—system is designed to balance capture and cargo weight |
| CO2 Offload Frequency | About every 500 miles (can be timed with fueling stops) |
| Revenue Potential | Captured CO2 sold to industrial end-users (e.g., concrete, greenhouses); revenue shared with fleet owner |
| Environmental Value | One device equivalent to planting 6,200 trees per year |
Remora’s approach monetizes emissions reduction by selling the captured CO2 to companies in need (such as concrete manufacturers, greenhouse growers), and distributing a portion of that revenue back to trucking companies. This financially rewards adoption and accelerates emissions cuts across the logistics industry.
Who Benefits from Remora’s Technology?
- Fleet Operators: Reduce their carbon footprint, gain access to emission reduction credits, and share revenue from CO2 sales.
- End-Users of CO2: Secure a reliable supply of reclaimed CO2 for industrial, agricultural, and construction needs.
- Climate Advocates: See rapid, scalable emissions reductions in a hard-to-abate sector.
- Policy Makers and Regulators: Gain a practical, field-ready option for meeting near-term climate goals.
Technical Hurdles and Innovations
Mobile carbon capture presents unique engineering challenges not found in stationary systems:
- Space, weight, and volumetric limits: Unlike stationary plants, mobile units must fit within strict size and weight constraints.
- Energy efficiency: Systems must operate with minimal energy draw to avoid offsetting gains with greater fuel use.
- Robustness and reliability: Devices must withstand constant vibration, changing weather, and long operational hours.
- Quick offload and reload cycles: Ensuring captured carbon does not slow down logistics operations.
Remora’s team—blending climate tech, mechanical engineering, and logistics experience—has addressed these through smart material selection, novel engineering, and software-driven control systems.
Comparing Mobile and Stationary Carbon Capture
| Feature | Mobile (Remora) | Stationary (Plant-based) |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Mounted on vehicles (semis) | Fixed at industrial sites |
| Energy Use Constraints | Must minimize impact on vehicle fuel use | Less restriction (access to grid/plant power) |
| Deployment Speed | Rapid (immediate retrofit of existing fleets) | Slower (requires new plant construction) |
| Flexibility | Standardized, scalable across fleets | Site-specific customization |
| Sector Impact | Transportation emissions | Stationary industrial emissions |
Remora’s Founders and Motivation
Remora was founded by:
- Paul Gross: Co-founder and CEO, inspired by a realization during his undergraduate years at Yale: “Why are we not capturing CO2 from every vehicle tailpipe?”
- Christina Reynolds: Co-founder and CTO, whose University of Michigan research laid the foundation for mobile carbon capture science.
- Eric Harding: Co-founder and chief engineer, bringing experience from diesel mechanics and truck electrification projects.
The team is driven by a sense of climate urgency and a recognition that incremental solutions are not enough. Their goal: devices on every truck—nationwide and globally—to dramatically reduce transported emissions and help achieve mid-century decarbonization targets.
Scaling up: National and Global Impact
If Remora’s device were installed on all U.S. semitrucks:
- The equivalent of 340 million tons of CO2 could be captured per year.
- This would match or exceed the emissions cuts possible through electrifying all trucks—without waiting for infrastructure buildout.
- Potential to make trucking carbon negative when paired with carbon-neutral fuels (e.g., biofuel, renewable natural gas).
Each device on a truck is compared to planting over 6,000 trees annually—making a rapid, measurable difference at fleet scale.
Challenges and Next Steps
- Fuel Efficiency Tradeoff: The first-generation device reduces truck fuel efficiency by about 10%. Ongoing R&D aims to reduce energy draw and device weight.
- Infrastructure Needs: Offloading and transporting captured CO2 at scale will require new infrastructure at refueling locations.
- Policy and Incentives: Government policy, carbon credits, and regulatory standards could accelerate adoption nationwide.
- Continuous Improvement: Remora targets 95% capture efficiency and lighter, smaller, more affordable future versions.
The Future of Mobile Carbon Capture
Remora’s early deployments demonstrate that mobile carbon capture works and can be scaled quickly. With commercial units rolling out and partnerships forming in the logistics industry, the company is poised to help transform one of the most polluting transport sectors. As regulators and corporations look for fast, cost-effective ways to reduce emissions, devices like Remora’s could become standard equipment on fleets across the world.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Remora’s Carbon Capture for Trucks
Q: What makes Remora’s solution different from carbon capture at power plants?
A: Remora’s mobile carbon capture targets moving vehicles, capturing CO2 directly at the exhaust of each semitruck. Unlike large stationary systems, this solution is designed for rapid, scalable retrofitting on existing fleets—with unique engineering for weight, space, and operational durability.
Q: How much carbon does a single Remora device capture?
A: Up to 169 metric tons of CO2 per year for each installed truck—a meaningful impact for large fleets.
Q: Does the Remora device affect a truck’s performance or ability to haul freight?
A: The device currently reduces fuel efficiency by about 10% due to added weight and energy needs, but is designed for minimal impact on payload capacity. Engineers are working to reduce these effects in future iterations.
Q: What happens to the captured CO2?
A: The CO2 is offloaded at refueling stations and sold to industries (like concrete, agriculture, greenhouses), providing additional revenue for trucking fleets and reducing net emissions in multiple sectors.
Q: Can Remora make trucks carbon negative?
A: Yes—with renewable fuels and the carbon capture device, it’s possible to remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than the vehicle emits, achieving carbon-negative trucking.
Q: When will Remora’s technology be widely available?
A: The first commercial units are already rolling out to early customers, with plans for rapid expansion through partnerships and increased production capacity in the coming years.
Conclusion
Remora’s mobile carbon capture system represents a powerful new tool for slashing transportation emissions—one that works today, scales quickly, and brings immediate climate and business benefits. As the freight sector awaits large-scale electrification, this innovative approach offers a pragmatic, economically compelling path forward for fleet operators, climate advocates, and society at large.
References
- https://www.promptloop.com/directory/what-does-remora-do
- https://www.mathworks.com/company/mathworks-stories/new-device-dramatically-reduces-trucks-co2-emissions.html
- https://mimfg.org/Articles/how-mobile-carbon-capture-might-save-the-world
- https://mcj.vc/portfolio/remora
- https://remoracarbon.com
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xlCicgNC5s
- https://remoracarbon.com/faq/
- https://bridgemi.com/business-watch/michigan-startup-makes-device-collects-co2-semitruck-tailpipes/
- https://sbn-detroit.org/remoras-carbon-capture-technology-targets-heavy-duty-transportation/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSrsmwrW-pQ
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