The Politecnico di Milano university has launched a mobile carbon capture pilot laboratory in Piacenza, Italy, designed to advance solvent-based carbon capture technologies for industrial applications.
Known as POLICAP, the transportable facility was developed by the university’s Department of Energy with funding from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan through the ECCSELLENT project.
The pilot plant is also part of the wider European ECCSEL-ERIC research network supporting carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) development.
POLICAP is designed to be installed directly at industrial sites, allowing researchers to test carbon capture systems using both synthetic gases and real industrial emissions streams. The facility focuses on solvent absorption technologies and will also evaluate new materials, components and process configurations aimed at improving capture efficiency and reducing energy and operating costs.
According to the university, the pilot will support scale-up and industrialization studies while helping develop advanced digital models for CCUS systems under industrially representative conditions.
“With POLICAP, we strongly reaffirm that the green transition is no longer negotiable: it is a strategic priority,” said Donatella Sciuto, Rector of Politecnico di Milano.
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The project is led by researchers from the university’s Department of Energy, including Professors Manuele Gatti and Matteo Carmelo Romano, alongside a wider research team focused on carbon capture innovation.
The launch event took place during City Vision’s 2026 Roadshow on transformative energy and was attended by regional and local government representatives.
Italy has been increasing investment in carbon capture infrastructure, led by the Ravenna CCS Hub developed by Eni and Snam. The project’s first phase is already storing captured CO2 in depleted Adriatic gas fields, while a second phase aims to scale capacity to up to four million tons of CO2 annually before 2030.
Italy’s updated National Energy and Climate Plan identifies CCUS and direct air capture as important technologies for helping hard-to-abate industries reduce emissions and meet climate targets.
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