Swiss clean technology company Daphne Technology has developed a methane emission reduction technology to reduce methane slip emissions from gas engines | Top 100 Swiss Innovators
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The Swiss clean technology company Daphne Technology (hereinafter referred to as Daphne) was founded in 2017. The company is committed to researching and developing methane emission reduction technologies. Based on plasma catalytic technology, Daphne produces conversion and purification equipment that is plug-and-play and can effectively reduce methane slip emissions in the exhaust gases of industrial and shipping gas engines.
Daphne is a spin-off company of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), founded by Mario Michan. Mario Michan is the founder and director of the company. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of British Columbia and has served as a research scientist at CERN and EPFL.
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Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas. Currently, more than a quarter of global warming is caused by methane, and over half of global methane emissions are related to human activities in fossil fuels, agriculture, and waste management. As a short-lived climate pollutant, methane has a shorter residence time in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, about 12 years, but its global warming effect is 85 times that of carbon dioxide. Removing one ton of methane has an immediate impact equivalent to removing 120 tons of carbon dioxide, but the cost is only a fraction of the latter, and it does not require capturing and processing by-products like carbon capture. This means that reducing methane emissions can have an immediate and significant impact on global warming. This is particularly important for industries such as shipping and energy. As these industries transition to liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel, methane slip, that is, the emission of unburned methane into the atmosphere, is widespread. Although methane can be decomposed by sunlight and hydroxyl radicals, the process takes an extremely long time and is difficult to meet the current emission requirements. Industrial methane emission reduction requires high temperatures and a large amount of energy consumption. Methane emission reduction has become a difficult problem for industries that rely on natural gas and dual-fuel engines.
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Based on non-thermal plasma (NTP) and methane oxidation catalyst (MOC), Daphne has developed plasma catalytic technology to produce methane emission reduction equipment for industrial and shipping gas engines. It can effectively remove methane emissions from the exhaust gases of gas engines and provide real-time emission data to help enterprises improve operational efficiency and meet international regulatory standards.
Daphne's plasma catalytic technology combines non-thermal plasma and Daphne's patented methane oxidation catalyst to convert methane into carbon dioxide and water, effectively removing harmful gases from the exhaust. Its working principle is that non-thermal plasma generates high-energy electrons that interact with methane molecules in the exhaust stream, activating the methane molecules and reducing the activation energy required for methane oxidation. The methane oxidation catalyst further converts methane into carbon dioxide and water, ensuring that methane is removed from the exhaust with the lowest energy consumption and higher efficiency. Different from traditional emission reduction systems that require high temperatures and a large amount of energy, this technology relies on electricity to generate non-thermal plasma, which is more cost-effective. It can be used in various engines, including those with lower exhaust temperatures, without affecting engine performance, and can reduce methane emissions by 99%. At the same time, this technology meets current and future emission standards, ensuring that enterprises remain compliant and achieve sustainable development.
Based on this technology, Daphne has developed conversion and purification equipment that can directly reduce methane emissions from engine exhaust. It takes an average of twelve and a half years for the atmosphere to oxidize methane into carbon dioxide, while Daphne can complete it instantly.
Daphne's conversion and purification equipment is available for industrial and marine use. Its industrial equipment can minimize methane, carbon monoxide, and other harmful emissions and regulated gas emissions from natural gas engines in land-based industries. The equipment can be easily connected to the engine exhaust pipe and seamlessly integrated with existing engine systems. It is powered by electricity and is particularly suitable for four-stroke lean-burn engines. Daphne's marine equipment is specifically designed for four-stroke dual-fuel auxiliary marine engines. The equipment is compatible with existing marine engine systems and is very suitable for LNG carriers, tankers, container ships, ferries, cruise ships, and other vessels using methane-rich fuels, helping to ensure that operators comply with EU and international maritime regulations. In addition, the equipment can also be applied to offshore platforms such as floating production storage and offloading units (FPSO) and floating storage and regasification units (FSRU).
Meanwhile, as a supplement, Daphne has also developed software that can accurately read the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane in real-time to accurately, continuously, and directly monitor and report emissions. The software has the highest accuracy on the market. It will measure the emission data of carbon dioxide and methane in real-time, then transmit the data to the cloud platform for processing and storage, convert it into dry greenhouse gas tons, and encrypt and enrich the data using its own API for internal and international regulatory compliance reporting documents. In April 2024, Trafigura, a global market leader in the commodities industry, deployed the software on its LNG carriers. In July 2024, the software received an Approval in Principle (AiP) from Lloyd's Register of Shipping.
Currently, Daphne has received investments from Shell Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Trafigura, AET, and Swisscom, and has subsidiaries in Norway and the United States. At the same time, Daphne has won many awards and recognitions, including Horizon 2020 EU funding, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment Award, VentureKick 2020, Climate-KIC 2020, the Swiss Top CleanTech Award, and the 2022 Ocean Solutions Award, and has been shortlisted for the "Top 100 Swiss Innovators" four times.
In October 2021, Daphne completed a Series B financing of 10 million Swiss francs. In March 2022, it completed a second financing of 4 million Swiss francs and raised another 3 million Swiss francs in December 2022, bringing the total Series B financing to 17 million Swiss francs. In January 2025, Daphne collaborated with Williams, a leader in the energy industry, and received a grant worth $6 million from the US Department of Energy's Methane Emission Reduction Program (MERP). Daphne will deploy plasma catalytic technology on Williams' engines and comprehensively evaluate the performance, adaptability, and economic feasibility of the product.
Daphne Technology is a listed company in the "Top 100 Swiss Startups" in 2024. The "Top 100 Swiss Startups" brings together the best Swiss-made startups and growing technology innovation companies. It is the most internationally influential benchmark list in the Swiss technology innovation field. Since 2011, the list has selected 100 of the most innovative and market - promising Swiss innovation companies and 25 Swiss growing companies with the most unicorn potential nationwide in Switzerland each year, covering fields such as life sciences, engineering machinery, robotics, information and communication, low - carbon technology, and food technology. The "Top 100 Swiss Startups" and related brand activities are iconic events in the Swiss innovation ecosystem, representing the highest level of Swiss innovation and the forefront of international investment and financing.
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