A mobile pilot laboratory for CO₂ capture using solvent-based technologies has been inaugurated in Piacenza, Italy. The facility, named POLICAP, was conceived, designed, and will be managed by a team from the Department of Energy at the Politecnico di Milano.

Designed to test CO₂ capture via solvent absorption, POLICAP will use conventional, widely adopted solutions and will also test new materials, components, and processes that deliver improved performance from a technical, economic, energy, and environmental perspective. Its mobile design means it will be able to be installed at industrial sites, enabling experiments with both synthetic gases and actual emissions streams.

The main objectives include demonstrating high capture efficiencies, conducting performance tests representative of industrial conditions, and studying scale-up and industrialisation processes, supported by advanced digital models.

The research team is led by Professors Manuele Gatti and Matteo Carmelo Romano assisted by Valeria Venturelli, Riccardo Cremona, and Antonio Conversano.