Overview
- VENTRA, unveiled this week by TU/ecomotive at Eindhoven University of Technology, places electrostatic collectors close to each wheel to charge airborne particles and pull them onto grounded surfaces.
- Team simulations show the system would capture about 24% of particles at 31–50 mph and up to about 42% at lower speeds, leaving a majority of emissions uncollected in the modeled scenarios.
- The car cuts roughly 100 kg (about 220 lb) from the chassis by using carbon‑fibre‑reinforced thermoplastic panels to reduce tire load and thus lower particle generation.
- The wheel collectors can be vacuumed or rinsed and the students demonstrated recycling captured dust by embedding some of it into an interior coating.
- VENTRA is a demonstration meant to push industry action rather than a commercial product, and it now faces real‑world road tests and questions about energy, cost, lifecycle impacts and scalability as Euro 7 rules on non‑exhaust emissions take effect in November 2026.