Carbon capture projects in cement and waste feature prominently in the carbon management strategy which may shortly be greenlit by the German government.

Tabled by the federal government in February alongside a draft amendment to the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act, the strategy highlights the important role CCS and CCU technologies are expected to play in meeting the country’s ambition to reach carbon neutrality by 2045.

In tabling the strategy, the government acknowledged that decarbonising CO₂-intensive industrial sectors like lime, cement, and waste incineration, as well as preserving the competitiveness of the German industry would be impossible without the deployment of CCS and CCU technologies.

In these industries, a complete avoidance of carbon emissions is technically unfeasible or extremely expensive. As such, the draft amendment to the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act proposes ending Germany’s current ban on carbon storage, allowing both onshore and under-seabed sequestration ― provided that the federal states agree.

In combination, the carbon management strategy and the proposed changes to the current legal framework set the scene to enable CO₂ capture, transport, utilisation, and offshore storage in the country.

As reported by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the new strategy proposes that Germany should have at least one large-scale carbon capture project in operation in the cement and lime industry and in waste incineration by 2030.

The publication also refers to a scorecard for potential areas of application. Listed below cement, lime and waste in order of importance is the basic chemicals industry followed by gas-fuelled direct reduction of steel, the glass industry, and blue hydrogen.

Before being given the final green light, the carbon management strategy will be debated among the relevant government ministries.