Mazda Motor Corporation has launched the first public demonstration of its Mazda Mobile Carbon Capture system, an onboard CO2 capture technology designed to remove carbon directly from vehicle exhaust.
The trial took place during Round 7 of the 2025 Super Taikyu Series on November 15–16, marking a major milestone for a technology the company believes could redefine the climate value of combustion engines.
The effort builds on Mazda’s mobility vision, announced earlier this year at the Japan Mobility Show, framed around the idea that “the joy of driving fuels a sustainable tomorrow.” The company’s long-term aim is to achieve a scenario by 2035 in which “driving more” can equate to lowering atmospheric CO2, provided vehicles run on carbon-neutral fuels and capture the CO2 they emit.
Zeolite-Based System Captures CO2 at the Tailpipe
For the first on-track trial, Mazda installed the system in its MAZDA SPIRIT RACING 3 Future Concept (Car No. 55). The vehicle ran on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a drop-in biodiesel already commercialized in Europe. The combination – carbon-neutral fuel plus onboard capture – allowed Mazda to test a complete loop for low-carbon combustion mobility.
The device uses porous zeolite materials as the CO2 adsorbent, trapping CO2 directly from the exhaust stream during operation. Mazda reports that the system successfully adsorbed CO2 under real racing conditions, providing the first field validation of the concept.
The company plans to continue testing the system throughout the next Super Taikyu season, with a focus on boosting CO2 recovery rates and refining the energy, weight, and thermal integration of the device.
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While the global auto sector pivots toward electrification, Mazda is positioning onboard CO2 capture as a complementary pathway, particularly for applications where internal combustion may persist.
The company argues that pairing carbon-neutral fuels with tailpipe capture could enable net-negative mobility systems, reducing atmospheric CO2 in proportion to distance traveled.
Mazda says it will continue advancing the underlying materials, system design, and onboard integration to support a long-term role for carbon-capturing combustion vehicles in a sustainable mobility ecosystem.
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