CCS for Germany: Policy, R&D and demonstration activities

Abstract

Abstract While the share of renewables has been growing rapidly since the 1990s, at present electricity generation in Germany is still based on coal and nuclear energy, with nuclear power and lignite covering almost the whole base load electricity generation, and hard coal serving as the main energy carrier for medium-load generation. However, both coal and nuclear energy are facing major challenges. The future of coal in Germany is uncertain against the background of strong climate policy regulations and issues of public acceptance. In line with current legislation, nuclear power is being phased out. In its strategy for CO2 emissions reduction, the German government has identified the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies as one of the options. Major government papers highlight the importance of further research and development (R&D) in the field of CCS technologies. German industry supports R&D activities on CCS by participating in the work of public–private partnerships (PPP), e.g. the COORETEC initiative, the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN programme, as well as by implementing CCS demonstration projects. In view of the difficulties coal has been facing with regard to public acceptance in Germany, the public acceptance of CCS technologies is recognised as an important precondition for their large-scale deployment. Thus, research on public acceptance of CCS is one of the priorities accompanying R&D on these technologies. Besides the strategy of fostering national R&D activities on CCS, Germany is actively participating in international networks and organisations dealing with the CCS issues.