This all-electric car captures more carbon than it emits. Named ZEM, for zero-emission mobility, the car houses a Cleantron lithium-ion battery pack, and most of its parts are 3D-printed from recycled plastics.

Battery electric vehicles emit virtually no CO2 during operation compared with combustion-engine vehicles, but battery cell production can create so much pollution that it can take EVs tens of thousands of miles to achieve "carbon parity" with comparable fossil-fueled models.

The target is to minimize carbon dioxide emitted during the car's full lifespan, from manufacturing to recycling. "Our end goal is to create a more sustainable future," said Jens Lahaije, finance manager for TU/ecomotive, the Eindhoven University of Technology student team that created the car. The students are showing their vehicle on a U.S. promotional tour to universities and companies from the East Coast to Silicon Valley.