The "Carbon Removal Park Baltic Sea" (CDR Park Baltic Sea), which was officially opened in Grevesmühlen (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) in mid-October, combines two important decarbonization measures: On the one hand, it removes CO2 from the atmosphere and at the same time produces climate-neutral heat. The operator is the German cleantech company Novocarbo.
State-of-the-art pyrolysis technology from German plant manufacturer PYREG is used to process biogenic waste materials into biochar. This binds the carbon present in the biomass and stores it in the biochar for the long term. The biochar serves as a water and nutrient reservoir, which makes agricultural soils healthier and more climate-resistant, for example. Stadtwerke Grevesmühlen has been feeding the climate-neutral waste heat generated during the pyrolysis process into its district heating network since the start of the current heating period. This makes the supply of around 1,800 connected households greener and increases the proportion of renewable energy from 60 to 75 %.
In line with Paris climate targets
The Carbon Removal Park in the "green industrial estate northwest" 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 tons of CO2 are removed from the atmosphere, 6,600 MWh of climate-neutral heat are generated and 1,700 tons of biochar are produced, which is used as a soil conditioner in agriculture, among other things. The Paris climate targets envisage reducing carbon dioxide emissions 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 using carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.
"Our carbon removal parks can generate climate-neutral heat and remove CO2 from the atmosphere at the same time. In this way, we are making an important contribution to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement“, says Caspar von Ziegner, CEO of Novocarbo. "We are delighted to be working with Stadtwerke Grevesmühlen to drive forward the heating transition in Germany and support the energy industry in decarbonizing its heat generation. Collaborations between cleantech start-ups and municipal energy suppliers are the way forward to quickly and successfully deploy decarbonization technologies to achieve net-zero targets."
The "Carbon Removal Park Baltic Sea" is the third and largest location of the Hamburg start-up to date. Companies such as thyssenkrupp rothe erde are already relying on Novocarbo's decarbonization solution. There are plans to build 200 more CDR parks worldwide by 2033.
