Daphne Technology

Daphne Technology is a Swiss climate deep-tech company established in 2018 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). The company was founded by Dr. Mario Michan, who currently serves as the CEO. Dr. Michan's background uniquely positions him to lead Daphne, combining his early career as a maritime professional and ship officer with a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of British Columbia and research experience at CERN. This blend of maritime industry knowledge and scientific expertise was crucial in identifying the potential of a technology he worked on during his Ph.D. to address marine engine pollution.

The company is focused on developing solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) and toxic emissions for hard-to-decarbonize industries, particularly the maritime and land-based energy sectors. Daphne Technology's business model centers on the sale of its hardware and a recurring revenue model through service, maintenance, and a Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) subscription option. The company serves clients such as global shipping companies and operators in the natural gas value chain. It has secured significant funding from a consortium of strategic investors including Shell Ventures, Trafigura, AET, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Swisscom, and J.P. Morgan.

Daphne's core product portfolio addresses methane slip—the unburned methane that escapes from engine exhausts. Its flagship solutions are SlipPure™ Marine and SlipPure™ Land. These systems utilize a proprietary plasma-catalytic process that integrates non-thermal plasma and a methane oxidation catalyst to convert methane into less harmful carbon dioxide and water without impacting engine performance. This technology is designed for easy, plug-and-play retrofitting onto existing engine exhausts. Complementing this is PureMetrics™, an advanced monitoring system that directly measures and reports real-time GHG emissions, ensuring compliance with regulations like the EU's MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) and the IMO's DCS (Data Collection System). In a move to help clients monetize their emission reduction efforts, the company has also developed a carbon credit methodology, approved by Gold Standard, for projects that reduce methane emissions.

Keywords: methane abatement, emissions reduction, maritime technology, climate tech, exhaust gas cleaning, GHG emissions, methane slip, plasma-catalytic, emissions monitoring, decarbonization, marine pollution, natural gas engines, cleantech, air pollution control, sustainable shipping, environmental technology, carbon credits, IMO regulations, industrial emissions, energy transition