Climate Target

Climate-neutral future

To achieve a climate-neutral future, we as a national economy are pursuing three paths to release as little harmful CO₂ into the atmosphere as possible:

1. Avoidance

2. Substitution, i.e., replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, and

3. Removing CO₂ from the atmosphere or preventing it from getting there in the first place.

The first two strategies are the priority, because every ton of CO₂ that can be avoided or replaced does not have to be expensively captured, stored, or reused.

“Net zero” emissions by 2050 is a goal that needs to be achieved when it comes to fighting climate change and which requires change by the entire economy.

After the year 2050, the goal is to even achieve negative greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that overall, more emissions should be removed from the atmosphere than are emitted.

Despite all efforts, there will still be emissions even after 2045 that cannot be avoided by the technologies currently available or under development.

Studies on climate neutrality therefore assume that difficult or unavoidable CO₂ emissions in certain areas or processes must be captured and subsequently utilized (Carbon Capture and Utilization, CCU) or safely and permanently stored in deep geological rock formations (Carbon Capture and Storage, CCS).

Technologies for the capture and transport of CO₂

The capture of difficult-to-avoid or unavoidable CO₂ emissions is particularly relevant in certain industrial sectors and in waste management. Here, the use of CCS/CCU is essential to achieve CO₂ neutrality, even assuming ambitious approaches to the circular economy, recycling, and the use of alternative building materials. In recent years, the development of available capture technologies has made significant progress in terms of capture efficiency, market readiness, and cost reduction, making large-scale deployment appear feasible today.

Transporting large quantities of CO₂ to the point of use or for permanent storage can be particularly efficient via pipelines and requires appropriate infrastructure. However, transport by ship, truck, or rail is also an option in some cases. Targeted carbon management in industrial clusters can help reduce transport requirements.

CO₂ as a raw material: Creating carbon cycles

The utilization of captured CO₂ offers an option to reduce process emissions from industrial sources while simultaneously closing carbon cycles. CO₂ is gaining increasing importance as a carbon source in the chemical industry, especially as the use of fossil carbon sources decreases or is phased out entirely.

However, the CO₂ bound in the products during their use is released again at the end of the product's life cycle, as long as the CO₂ cycle is not yet completely closed.

Permanent storage of CO₂

The permanent geological storage of CO₂ at depths of approximately 800 to 4,000 meters offers the possibility of permanently storing CO₂. Geological CO₂ storage has been practiced worldwide for decades – from small pilot projects to large industrial-scale projects and under various geological conditions. Suitable geological storage sites include, for example, depleted oil or natural gas reservoirs and saline aquifers (rock formations containing saltwater). Large quantities of CO₂ can be injected into these reservoirs and safely stored over geological timescales.

Negative emissions

So-called negative emissions remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. They can be achieved either through natural climate protection measures, such as increasing carbon stocks in forests, or with the help of technological approaches. These include, in particular, processes for the direct removal of CO₂ from the air (DACCS, Direct Air Capture and CCS) or the energetic use of biomass with CCS (BECCS, Bioenergy and CCS). In BECCS technology, CO₂ from the combustion of biomass is captured and then permanently stored in geological formations underground. It is important to note, however, that sustainably produced biomass should be used, but this is only available to a limited extent.

What T3C offers

1. Reduce/neutralize Carbon Footprint with carbon credits from worldwide Climate Save Projekts according to Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) and ISO 14064.2 in Scopes 1, 2 and 3 of the GHG balance and/or guarantee of origin certificates (GoO/I-REC - International Renewable Energy Certificate) the incoming energy in Scope 2.

GoO/I-Rec is an electronic document that proves a specified amount of energy, typically 1 megawatt-hour (MWh), was produced from a renewable source.

2. GHG accounting according to the GHG Protocol/DIN ISO 14064.1 and 3 (Scope 1, 2, 3):

- Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF)

- Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)

3. Establishment of a QMS (Quality Management System) according to the requirements of DIN ISO 9001, an EMS (Environmental Management System) according to the requirements of DIN ISO 14001 and an EnMS (Energy Management System) according to the requirements of DIN ISO 50001.

4. (Climate protection) Projects according to DIN ISO 14.064.2

5. (Climate protection) Project coordination, internal/external audits and participation in accordance with CSRD guidelines, EU Taxonomy Regulation, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) "Supply Chain Directive", Green Claims Directive, EU Ecodesign Regulation and with VSME (Voluntary SME Standard).