German government sets stage for carbon dioxide storage

According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWK), Germany's climate targets cannot be achieved without carbon capture and storage. The Federal Government on Wednesday adopted BMWK's strategy and the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act (KSpG) on which it is base. The new law allows carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) as well as the transport and offshore storage of CO₂ in Germany. Marine protected areas are excluded. Both legislative chambers still have to debate the law.

In February of this year, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens) presented key points for a carbon management strategy (CMS) and the law to the Federal Cabinet. The minister has now said that the draft texts have since been further developed with the other ministries and comments from the state and association hearings have been incorporated. Following feedback from the federal states, an opt-in clause for the onshore storage of CO₂ had been included in the draft bill. "This means that individual states can also allow onshore storage of CO₂ on their respective state territory in addition to the offshore storage permitted by federal law," said Habeck.

With the draft bill for an amendment to the KSpG , the federal government wants to "create a clear legal framework for the development of a CO₂ pipeline infrastructure and enable the offshore storage of CO₂". The exploration of offshore storage sites in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will be made possible by law.

No storage facilities in Germany yet

CCS and CCU are primarily suitable for industrial processes in which CO₂ emissions cannot be completely avoided or which cannot be converted directly to renewable energies or hydrogen. For emissions from energy generation from coal, access to CO₂ pipelines and CO₂ storage facilities is excluded. The carbon management strategy also includes the German government's power plant strategy, in which, for example, care is taken to ensure that new power plants can be converted to hydrogen.

So far, CO₂ storage facilities in Germany can neither be applied for nor approved, explains the BMWK. This is why there are still no CO₂ storage facilities in Germany. The CO₂ would therefore have to be transported abroad for offshore storage, which in turn is prohibited by the London Protocol. In its evaluation report on the KSpG from the end of 2022, the German government announced that it would lift this ban by ratifying an internationally agreed amendment to the London Protocol. Until then, the export of CO₂ would only be possible to onshore storage facilities abroad. Denmark, for example, is currently planning to build such onshore storage facilities.

According to the BMWK, CO₂ is already being transported within Germany. This is done by train, truck and ship. However, a pipeline infrastructure is economically necessary to transport large quantities of CO₂. This does not yet exist in Germany. The BMWK cannot yet say when the first pipelines will be built. In the ministry's view, a ramp-up of CCS would be possible from 2030.

(anw)