Carbon – Cycle Economy Demonstration (C-CED) is a flagship project in which a sustainable and closed carbon cycle is being established by combining and demonstrating different CO2 capture and utilization technologies. In the project, CO2 from various sources is captured on a pilot scale and converted into valuable renewable methane (methanation).
Methane as a carbon-containing energy carrier, but also as a raw material, plays an important role in many industrial processes. From today’s point of view, a complete abandonment is hardly conceivable, even though CO2 is often produced in these processes. Gaseous energy carriers, characterized by a high energy density and by the existing infrastructure, stand out as an excellent energy storage medium. At the same time, there are also industrial processes, where CO2 does not originate from fuels and CO2 emissions are unavoidable. Based on these considerations, it seems reasonable to establish a carbon cycle economy with seasonal large-volume storage facilities that provide the flexibility we urgently need for the switch to a renewable energy system.

The C-CED project is essentially working on two research areas:

1. Research and/or demonstration of CO2 capture from real gases:
   • Amine scrubbing for CO2 capture from steel industry waste gases
   • CO2 separation by membrane separation process
   • utilization of CO2 contained in biogas
   • development of a novel Direct Air Capture (DAC) process
2. The area of CO2 utilization focuses on methanation in this project. Research and/or demonstration will be carried out on the following technologies:
   • Bioelectrochemical processes
   • Flexibilization of geo-methanation from the Underground Sun Conversion project

In the Carbon – Cycle Economy Demonstration Project, the interaction of different technologies for the formation of a closed sustainable carbon cycle including the storage functions necessary for the energy system of the future will be investigated for the first time. The technical-scientific investigations are complemented by techno-economic analyses.

Presentation of the project