This Startup Is Deleting 29% Of All CO2 Emissions

Why It Matters

By targeting the transport sector — responsible for about 29% of U.S. emissions — Remora addresses a hard-to-decarbonize source while monetizing captured CO2, potentially reducing emissions and easing industrial CO2 shortages. If scalable, the approach could lower costs and accelerate deployment of carbon capture across fleets that won’t be electrified soon.

Summary

Remora has developed the first commercial carbon-capture systems for heavy vehicles, retrofitting semi-trucks and locomotives to extract and purify CO2 from exhaust into beverage-grade product. The startup says its technology can cut a vehicle’s emissions by at least 80% and harvested CO2 is sold to food and beverage companies, greenhouses and water-treatment facilities, creating a revenue stream for operators. Founded by Paul Gross with cofounders from a University of Michigan research connection and scaled after Y Combinator, the 43-person team builds hardware in the Detroit area to leverage local engineering talent. Remora positions point-source capture on hard-to-electrify transport as a more efficient alternative to direct-air capture and legacy solvent systems.

Original Description

Paul Gross and his team at Remora are trying to do something that’s never been done before. They’re building mobile carbon capture devices for commercial trucks and trains. It's a system that captures CO2 from moving vehicles before those emissions ever enter the atmosphere. Then they turn those captured emissions into revenue by selling to customers that can turn the liquified CO2 into new products.

In this episode of Hard Tech, YC’s Gustaf Alströmer visited Remora's headquarters outside of Detroit to find out how a recent college graduate with no engineering background is helping transform the $2 trillion transportation industry.

Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply

Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs

Chapters:

00:00 - Carbon Capture on Trucks

00:47 - How It Works

02:33 - Remora’s Origin Story

04:19 - Lessons for Founders

06:19 - From YC to Detroit

07:59 - Building a World-Class Team

09:31 - Train Prototype

10:37 - Testing and Iteration

11:47 - Big Goals Ahead