EPFL Carbon Team

Capturing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere

How it worksJoin us

About us

A student association at EPFL

We are a student association building a carbon capture prototype from low-cost materials and with minimal energy, and exploring how to reuse or store the CO₂ we capture.

  • 40student members
  • 5active sub-teams
  • 5prototypes built
  • WinnersOpenAir Carbon Removal Challenge 2025
Our technology

Two modules, one stream of almost pure CO₂

Astérix uses adsorbents to pull CO₂ from ambient air, concentrating it from about 400 ppm to around 1%. Idéfix then filters this flow through graphene membranes one atom thick, reaching up to 90% purity.

Both technologies come from EPFL labs we work with.

Discover the technology
The Astérix prototype with its panels open
Achievements

Recognised internationally

Winners

OpenAir Carbon Removal Challenge 2025

Top 100 worldwide

XPRIZE Carbon Removal

7th of 42 teams

EPFL Sustainable Innovation Challenge 2025

See all results →

The 2026–2027 Carbon Team waving in front of the EPFL sign on campus
The team

Students from every section

Chemists, engineers, physicists and more, from first-year bachelor to PhD, working in five sub-teams.

Meet the teams