Removing CO2 from the atmosphere and producing climate-neutral heat at the same time - these two important decarbonisation measures are combined in the new "Carbon Removal Park Baltic Sea" of the German cleantech company Novocarbo in Grevesmühlen (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), which was officially opened on 12 October 2023 in the presence of invited guests from politics and business.
"Our carbon removal parks can generate climate-neutral heat and simultaneously remove CO2 from the atmosphere. In this way, we are making an important contribution to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement", said Caspar von Ziegner, CEO Novocarbo. "We are pleased to be able to drive the heat transition in Germany through our cooperation with Stadtwerke Grevesmühlen and to support the energy industry in decarbonising its heat generation. Collaborations between cleantech start-ups and municipal energy suppliers are the way forward to quickly and successfully deploy decarbonisation technologies to achieve net zero goals."
Share of climate-neutral heat for 1,800 households rises to 75 %
State-of-the-art pyrolysis technology from the German plant manufacturer PYREG is used to process biogenic residues into vegetable carbon. This binds the carbon present in the biomass and stores it in the plant charcoal for the long term. The plant carbon serves as a water and nutrient reservoir, which makes agricultural soils healthier and more climate-resistant. The pyrolysis process also produces climate-neutral waste heat, which Stadtwerke Grevesmühlen will feed into its district heating network from the 2023 heating season. This will make the supply of around 1,800 connected households greener, and the share of renewable energies will increase from 60 % to 75 %.
Jens Wilms, project development at Stadtwerke Grevesmühlen: "By using the climate-neutral waste heat from Novocarbo, we can save on natural gas as an energy source and make district heating greener for the region. We see great potential here, especially for small and medium-sized municipal utilities, because Novocarbo's decarbonisation technology can be easily adapted and scaled. The energy supplier only builds the heat transport pipeline and saves additional investment costs, which enables short-term implementation. With cooperations like the one with Novocarbo, the path towards climate-neutral energy supply can succeed in an uncomplicated way."
Holistic approach: combining CO2 removal and climate-neutral heat generation
The Paris climate goals call for carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced to net zero. To achieve this, global CO2 emissions must be massively reduced. At the same time, CO2 must be actively removed from the atmosphere through so-called Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies. The Carbon Removal Park Baltic Sea (CDR Park Baltic Sea) in the "green industrial estate Nordwest" in Grevesmühlen is a unique example in Germany of a holistic approach and the combination of CO2 removal and climate-neutral heat generation. Every year, 3,200 t of CO2 are extracted from the atmosphere, 6,600 MWh of climate-neutral heat are generated, and 1,700 t of plant charcoal (Biochar) are produced, which is used, among other things, as a soil conditioner in agriculture.
Stefan Wenzel, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection: "Only through showcase projects like the Carbon Removal Park Baltic Sea can the development potential of new technologies for CO2 removal be exploited to the fullest, can scaling up to large-scale industrial applications succeed and the path towards a climate-neutral energy supply be successfully taken. I am convinced that Germany needs such innovative companies as Novocarbo to be able to meet the major challenges of climate change."
The Carbon Removal Park Baltic Sea in Grevesmühlen is the third and so far largest location of the Hamburg-based start-up. Companies such as thyssenkrupp rothe erde already rely on Novocarbo's decarbonisation solution. The construction of 200 more CDR parks worldwide is planned by 2033.
