SCI4climate.NRW: Research for a climate-neutral industry

Fraunhofer UMSICHT has been part of the state initiative IN4climate.NRW since 2018 and supports it through the scientific SCI4climate.NRW team. IN4climate.NRW designs cross-sector solutions and creates synergies between individual sectors for a CO₂-neutral and future viable industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. The participating companies and scientific institutions identify, evaluate and discuss different technological options and concepts that can contribute to achieving this goal.

IN4climate.NRW - and thus SCI4climate.NRW - designs cross-sectoral solutions and creates synergies between different sectors. The project partners identify and evaluate technologies contributing to achieve the overall goal. Furthermore, necessary infrastructure requirements for a climate-neutral production scenario as well as the boundary conditions for their realization are determined. The focus is on gas networks - e.g. for hydrogen and CO₂ - and the corresponding components such as sites and dimensions for (energy) conversion (P2X), storage options and the most suitable energy carrier for transportation. At the same time, the parties involved address necessary adjustments to the political and legal framework.

IN4climate.NRW selects the relevant topics for the basic materials producing industry. The necessary scientific work is carried out in topic areas, which are managed by a SCI4climate.NRW:

• Technologies and infrastructures (Fraunhofer UMSICHT)
• Products and value chains (RWTH Aachen)
• Scenarios and transformation paths (Wuppertal Institute)
• General conditions and business models (IW Köln)

Currently, the topics hydrogen, carbon dioxide economy, circular economy with a special focus on polymers, political framework conditions, and narratives were selected. In the future, heat (low-temperature and high-temperature heat, process heat, waste heat utilization, system concepts such as power-to-heat (-to-power), etc.) could also be considered.

Capture of Carbon Dioxide from mixed Sources: Operator Flexibility as a Solution to complex regulatory Challenges, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, 2026

Carbon dioxide capture for permanent storage (CCS) or for use as a feedstock (CCU) is playing an increasingly important role in concepts for future carbon management. Industrial CO2 capture is currently being discussed as an urgently needed option for installations in the cement and lime industries as well as for thermal waste treatment installations. In the case of capturing a portion of the generated CO2 and allocating sub-quantities of the captured CO2 for geological storage on the one hand and for use as a production feedstock on the other, the question arises as to how the assessment “originating from zero-rated carbon” should be applied to the sub-quantities from a regulatory perspective. This analysis examines the implications of the CO2 rating for storage and subsequent use and outlines a proposal on how to achieve the greatest possible economic freedom of action for the involved stakeholders without jeopardizing climate protection goals.

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Reasoning paper on the MRR, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, 2025

European emissions trading is a key management tool for achieving climate targets. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 regulates the associated monitoring and reporting. The latest revision of the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation (MRR) introduced a proportionality requirement, which may prove to be a major obstacle to investment and thus a brake on industrial transformation. The reasons for this are set out in the argumentation paper.

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Biogenic residual and waste materials for basic chemicals in NRW – requirements, technology paths and contribution to climate neutrality, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, 2024

The basic chemicals industry requires large quantities of carbon for the production of important (basic) chemicals. This document examines the extent to which the current fossil carbon base can be substituted by biogenic residues and waste materials. It compares requirements and availability, identifies possible technology paths and their degree of technological maturity and finally gives a cautious assessment of the leverage effect of this effort with regard to a climate-neutral industry.

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• Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbH (Projektkoordinator)
• RWTH Aachen, Lehrstuhl für Operations Management (bis 2022)
• RWTH Aachen, Lehrstuhl Technische Thermodynamik und Institut für Thermodynamik (bis 2022)
• Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln e. V.
• Verein Deutscher Zementwerke e. V.
• VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH