This Startup Is Deleting 29% Of All CO2 Emissions

Key Concepts

• Carbon Capture Technology: Systems designed to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
• Point Source Capture: Capturing CO2 directly from concentrated emission sources, such as vehicle exhaust or industrial smokestacks.
• Direct Air Capture (DAC): Capturing CO2 directly from the ambient atmosphere.
• Modularity: Designing components or systems in a way that allows for easy interchangeability and adaptation to different applications or vehicle types.
• Vertical Integration: A strategy where a company controls multiple stages of its production process in-house, from raw materials to final product.
• Dynamometer: A device used to measure the power output of an engine or motor, often used to simulate various load conditions.
• Beverage-Grade CO2: High-purity carbon dioxide suitable for use in the food and beverage industry, particularly for carbonation.
• Transportation Emissions: Greenhouse gas emissions originating from vehicles, which constitute a significant portion of overall emissions.

Remora: Pioneering Mobile Carbon Capture

Remora, founded by CEO Paul Gross, is developing the world's first carbon capture system for commercial trucks and trains. The company aims to fundamentally transform how one of the largest climate problems – transportation emissions – is addressed. Transportation accounts for 29% of all emissions in the US, making it the largest sector. Remora specifically targets long-haul trucking and freight trains, which are the most challenging parts of the industry to electrify. Paul Gross was motivated to create something impactful, stating, "If I don't build this it might not happen."

Remora's Technology and Process

Remora's core innovation involves retrofitting semi-trucks and locomotives with technology that extracts and purifies CO2 from their exhaust. The system is capable of producing beverage-grade CO2.

How the Device Works:

1. Exhaust from the tailpipe flows through a cylinder filled with small, pea-sized pellets.
2. CO2 molecules in the exhaust are adsorbed, getting stuck in the microscopic pores of these pellets.
3. All other clean gases flow past the pellets and are released into the air.
4. The captured CO2 is then offloaded as a liquid into a large tank.

This captured CO2 is transported to end-users such as food and beverage companies, greenhouses, and water treatment facilities, who can recycle it. This system not only reduces vehicle emissions by at least 80% (up to 90% for semi-trucks) but also generates new revenue for vehicle operators.

Founding Story and Entrepreneurial Philosophy

Paul Gross's journey began with an insight during college: a CO2 shortage in the US. He questioned why breweries struggled to get enough CO2 while 375 million tons per year were being emitted by trucks and trains. This led to the idea of retrofitting these vehicles for carbon capture, purifying the CO2, and selling it to those who need it.

To validate this concept, Paul built his own model, researched extensively, and consulted experts. This led him to co-found Remora with Christina Reynolds, who had just completed a PhD on the topic at the University of Michigan. Despite not having a science or engineering background himself, Paul's advice to aspiring founders facing similar situations is to "just start working on it and try to learn as much as possible yourself." He emphasizes that a founder doesn't need to be the sole expert but must "create a team of experts," finding it faster to learn and collaborate with specialists than to pursue a lengthy academic path.

Carbon Capture Landscape and Remora's Innovation

Carbon capture technology has existed for over a century, with various applications.

• Direct Air Capture (DAC): This method pulls CO2 directly from the atmosphere. However, it faces significant limitations because air is extremely dilute, containing only 0.04% CO2 molecules. This requires substantially more energy, making it more expensive and potentially generating more emissions in the process.
• Point Source Capture: Remora employs this method, capturing CO2 at its source. Paul Gross argues this is a more efficient starting point, as it's better to capture concentrated CO2 molecules at the source rather than trying to filter them from the widely dispersed atmosphere.

While point source capture has been explored, Remora is unique in applying it to commercial trucks and trains. Traditional point source methods often used liquid solvent technology, which is corrosive, volatile, can degrade, and may even add carcinogens to exhaust, hindering its scalability. Remora's solid adsorbent-based system avoids these downsides.

Company Growth, Location, and Team Building

Remora gained initial momentum after applying to Y Combinator (YC) in Winter 2021 with "nothing" but an idea. Paul credits YC with setting a rapid pace and exposing them to "world-class" standards, encouraging them to move quickly and take necessary risks.

The company chose to build its operations in Wixom, outside Detroit, rather than Silicon Valley. This decision was based on the "talent density" for mechanical and electrical engineers, and individuals with experience in packaging, vibration, and shock – expertise abundant in Detroit's manufacturing heritage. Paul considers this "the best decision that we made." Remora currently has 43 employees.

Paul encourages founders to "expand their ambitions," arguing that tackling "really interesting and hard" problems with the potential for "big impact on the planet" attracts the best engineers, advisors, and investors, making the journey more fulfilling and potentially leading to greater outcomes.

Manufacturing, Testing, and Scaling Challenges

Remora is committed to fully manufacturing its device in-house, including fabrication, laser cutting, welding, electronics, and machining. This vertical integration allows for faster iteration and quicker deployment of components onto vehicles.

For freight trains, Remora is developing an entirely separate rail car that attaches to the locomotive's exhaust stack to process emissions. They even acquired a 4,400 horsepower General Electric locomotive for testing purposes, parked behind their headquarters.

Scaling Challenges:

1. Modularity: Building a truly modular product that can be easily adapted to different locomotives and trucks without requiring constant redesign.
2. Vertical Integration: Maximizing in-house production to accelerate learning, improve manufacturability, and create a tight iteration loop between engineering and production.

To rapidly test different device versions, Remora built a sophisticated simulator in their warehouse. This setup features a real semi-truck engine housed in a shipping container, connected to a dynamometer. This allows them to simulate various road conditions (cruising, uphill, downhill) and test the device's performance with different exhaust temperatures and compositions. This combination of virtual and physical simulation has dramatically improved energy efficiency, system size, capture efficiency, and purity.

Funding and Future Vision

Remora has successfully raised $17 million in venture backing and secured evaluation agreements with major freight companies like Ryder and Union Pacific.

Paul Gross envisions Remora making a "really meaningful dent in the entire country's carbon emissions," with an ambitious goal to capture "a billion tons a year." He believes the technology is highly scalable and applicable across various sectors beyond transportation, including:

• Generators
• Oil and gas production
• Container ships
• Larger industrial applications like cement plants, refineries, and natural gas turbines.

Conclusion

Remora is at the forefront of mobile carbon capture, addressing a critical environmental challenge by transforming heavy-duty transportation emissions into a valuable resource. Through innovative engineering, a strategic focus on point source capture, in-house manufacturing, and a commitment to modular design, the company is poised to significantly reduce carbon footprints and create new economic opportunities. With strong backing and a clear vision for scalability, Remora aims to achieve a monumental impact on global carbon emissions.