The Federal Ministry of Economics has set up a new funding pot worth 3.3 billion euros for companies that want to significantly reduce their CO₂ emissions. Energy-intensive companies, especially in medium-sized companies, such as those in the glass, paper or ceramics industries, that convert their systems to be climate-neutral should have large parts of their investment costs reimbursed, as Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announced on Friday in Berlin. In addition, application and research projects for the capture, storage and use of CO₂ should be subsidized. In a first pillar, projects can be funded with which companies “want to save at least 40 percent of their CO₂ emissions in production through investments or research projects,” explained the ministry. In principle, companies can apply for a subsidy of 30 percent of the investment costs. The rate increases to 40 percent for medium-sized companies and 50 percent for small companies. The funding is capped at 200 million euros per company. A second pillar is aimed at the capture, storage (CCS) and use (CCU) of CO₂. “There we focused on unavoidable emissions, i.e. sectors where we know there is no alternative,” said Habeck. First of all, this refers to the lime and cement industries as well as waste incineration plants. Research projects in other areas such as basic chemistry, glass and ceramics can also be funded.More on the topicWith CCS and CCU technology, carbon dioxide produced by the combustion of fossil fuels is not emitted into the atmosphere, but is instead captured and then either permanently stored in deep geological rock layers stored or used commercially. Both processes are considered to contribute to the climate-friendly transformation of the economy, but are also controversial. Environmental groups see this as a trick to continue using fossil fuels instead of saving CO₂. The federal government wants to approve the technologies under certain conditions and has developed a “carbon management strategy” for this purpose. The CCS/CCU funding is in line with this, explained the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Investment projects are therefore eligible for funding of up to 30 million euros, and industrial research projects are eligible for funding of up to 35 million euros. The new funding pot “explicitly addresses medium-sized businesses,” explained Habeck. “We especially want to support the many medium-sized production companies in switching to low-CO₂ processes.”
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