The ‘world’s first’ train to capture carbon from the air as it moves could soon be on its way.

Engineers from the University of Sheffield have worked with the US startup CO2Rail Company to develop a direct air capture (DAC) system that could be installed in carriages of existing trains.

ELN spoke to Peter Styring, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at the University of Sheffield about this innovative technology.

Professor Styring said: “The idea is that when the train moves and particularly when it brakes or comes to a stop, it loses a lot of energy. And the idea is that we use that energy in a regenerative mode as you see on Formula 1 cars or in hybrid cars.

“We take the braking energy and convert it into electrical energy and we use that to drive a carbon capture system.”

He said the system is “small” and “compact” which means it is portable to put onto train cars with relative ease.

Click the video to listen to the full interview.