Since the beginning of industrialisation, the fossil energy sources that have been created over millions of years have been burnt in an ever-increasing amount and largely used for electricity, heat and mobility. The carbon dioxide (CO2) released in the process is accumulating increasingly in the Earth’s atmosphere, reinforcing the greenhouse effect there and thus leading to global warming.

The consequence is a reinforcement of the naturally occurring climate change. Only a rapid and considerable reduction in global CO2 emissions can still limit the consequences of climate change. The energy sector is one of the central starting points for this. Alongside saving energy through more efficient technologies and the use of renewable energy technologies, it is also necessary to develop and implement low carbon technologies industrially. The key areas are more efficient power plants and the capture and geological storage of CO2 – Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). The future aim of CCS technologies is to capture the CO2 released during combustion processes with as little extra energy requirement and cost as possible, transport it to the gas storage reservoir and then store it securely over the long term.

Research and development work is being carried out for each of these three process stages, some of the goals being to improve the energy and environmental balance of all the stages, to ascertain the chemical processes taking place in the filled reservoir as well as optimising the safety and long-term stability of the reservoir. In terms of technology, working with CO2 is not new territory. The gas has been used for years in crude oil and natural gas production to stimulate deposits, and naturally occurring CO2 is captured and stored during natural gas production.

The German Federal Government is supporting research and development into low-carbon power plant technologies. The support initiative “COORETEC” (CO2 reduction technologies) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is concentrating on the separation and transportation of CO2 in addition to increasing power plant efficiency. Research projects into storing CO2 are being funded by the geotechnology programme of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In addition to this, Germany is involved in international projects organised by the EU and the International Energy Agency (IEA).