Hessen plans CO2 storage: A step towards climate neutrality!

Von Markus Schneiderling

Hessen plant Zustimmung zu CO2-Speicherungsgesetz zur Erreichung der Klimaziele bis zur Bundestagswahl am 14. Februar 2025.
Hessen plans approval of the CO2 storage law to achieve the climate goals until the federal election on February 14, 2025. (Symbolbild/ANAG)

Hessen plans to agree to the draft law for CO2 storage in order to achieve the climate goals. The Hessian Economic and Energy Minister Kaweh Mansori (SPD) confirmed that the state will give its consent as soon as the draft is submitted to the Federal Council before the Bundestag election. This reported n-tv.de and made it clear that Hessen wants to play an important role in national CO2 management.

The planned law aims to promote the deposition and storage of carbon dioxide (CCS). In particular, CO2 is to be stored in the North Sea in order to significantly reduce emissions that are particularly important in lime and cement production. Representatives of Union and FDP have also signaled their consent if the details of the next steps are still unclear.

legal foundations and international comparisons

The amendment to the law was introduced by the traffic light coalition in the Bundestag in September 2024, but it remains to be seen whether the Federal Council will deal with the topic in its meeting on February 14th. With the Federal Climate Protection Act, Germany pursues the goal of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. This not only includes CCS, but also the carbon separation and use (CCU), which is crucial for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, especially in industries that are difficult to decorate. In 2023, the industry produced around 144 million tons of CO₂ in Germany, which makes the country the second largest issuer in this area, such as Taylor Wessing reported.

The technology for CCS and CCU is becoming increasingly important. The KSPG has been the legal basis for transport-based CO2 transport to memory devices since 2012, but a change in the law is necessary to also support CCU projects. One of the suggestions is to create comprehensive infrastructures for CO2 that enable transport through pipelines, trucks and lanes. The geological storage locations in Hesse, such as the Hessian sink, could be considered.

challenges and concerns

Nevertheless, there are challenges. Experts and environmental organizations have expressed concerns about the high costs and the practical implementation of CO2 storage. So far, comprehensive data on the potential geological storage locations in Hesse are missing, and in the Upper Rhine moat there are only oil and gass storage with low capacities. CCS is often rated as a bridge technology for industries such as cement, steel and chemistry that are more difficult to decorize.

There are already approaches that show that large-scale CO2 storage is technologically feasible. Norway serves as a model here and has made progress with the storage of CO₂ under the North Sea. In Germany, the commissioning of a CCU system is expected on an industrial scale from 2025, which is a further step towards the implementation of CCS and CCU in the German energy transition, underlined Taylor wessing .

The coming months will be decisive for how Hessen and the federal government will tackle the necessary steps to implement CO2 storage and use. Compliance with the climate goals and the development of a sustainable infrastructure are of central importance in order to significantly reduce emissions in German industry.

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