Student VENTRA EV project aims to capture tyre and brake wear particles
Students at TU Eindhoven have developed an electric car concept called VENTRA, which is designed to capture fine dust from tire and brake wear while driving. Additionally, the vehicle focuses on lightweight construction and provides guidance for a low-wear driving style.
VENTRA is designed to capture particles directly in the wheel area.
Image: Sarp Gürel
This time, the focus is not on the powertrain itself but on an emission source that persists even among EVs: particles from tyre, brake, and road wear. VENTRA is designed to capture some of these particles directly in the wheel area. Instead of using a conventional filter, the team electrically charges the particles and then attracts them to a grounded collection surface, where they are meant to adhere. According to the developers, the system can subsequently be cleaned using a vacuum cleaner or water.
However, the effectiveness of this approach under real-world conditions remains to be seen. So far, the team has only shared simulation results: at speeds between 50 and 80 km/h, around 24 per cent of the particles generated could reportedly be directed into the collection system. At lower speeds, the calculated proportion increases to up to 42 per cent.
VENTRA combines particle filtration with lightweight design
The students aim not only to capture existing wear particles but also to reduce their generation. To achieve this, the chassis has been largely constructed from lightweight, carbon-fibre-reinforced thermoplastic panels. According to the team, this reduces the vehicle’s weight by nearly 100 kg. Less mass, in turn, relieves the strain on tyres and brakes.
In addition, there is the so-called Clean-Drive system. It analyses the driving style and provides suggestions via the display, such as accelerating more gently, braking less abruptly, or avoiding unnecessary steering movements. The goal is to further reduce wear on tyres and brakes. TU/ecomotive has also envisaged a potential reuse for the captured particles. The material is intended to be collected and potentially recycled. In the concept vehicle, the team already uses some of it for interior components.
The project addresses so-called non-exhaust emissions from vehicles. While electric vehicles produce no local exhaust emissions, tyre, brake, and road wear still occur. The student team points out that the higher weight of many electric vehicles and high driving torques can additionally influence tyre wear.
The issue is also gaining regulatory significance. With Euro 7 (link in German), the EU will introduce requirements for particle emissions from brakes and tyre wear for the first time. TU/ecomotive refers in this context to the start of new regulations from November 2026.
VENTRA is explicitly designed as a research and demonstration vehicle. The team has not announced any plans for series production or specific collaboration with a car manufacturer. Instead, the concept is intended to showcase possible technical approaches for reducing non-exhaust emissions.
TU/ecomotive regularly develops concept vehicles that address individual sustainability challenges in electromobility. At the end of 2025, the team presented the modular urban electric car Aria, which primarily focused on repairability and a longer service life. With VENTRA, the focus now shifts to tyre and brake wear.
