General
According to its agreement with the Swiss Confederation, the Climate Cent Foundation will invest its remaining assets of around 60 million Swiss francs in climate protection projects in the fields of Negative Emissions Technologies (NET) and Carbon Capture, (Utilization) and Storage (CC(U)S).
A call for proposals has been launched to source mainly private sector projects suitable for funding under the agreement with the Swiss Confederation, involving technologies in which CO₂ emissions are removed from the atmosphere or directly captured at their point of production and then durably stored in materials or underground. The Climate Cent Foundation thereby contributes to consolidating Switzerland’s pioneering role in these fields.
Call for proposals 2022
In order to identify projects that are eligible for support, the Climate Cent Foundation issued a call for proposals between June and September 2022 for projects in the area of NET and/or CCS. Initially, 21 ideas were submitted that fulfilled the participation criteria. Fourteen of these ideas were fleshed out in a second round. In February 2023, five projects were given a definitive funding commitment. All of these projects revolve around the capture of CO₂ in Switzerland, primarily by means of biogas plants. Three of the projects are aimed at capturing the CO₂ in Switzerland in building materials, and two projects concern the transportation of the CO₂ abroad for permanent storage underground. The sponsorship contracts, amounting to a total of 50 million Swiss francs, were signed in August 2023.
The five selected projects
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ReCO₂ver, Sika Services AG
ReCO₂ver, Sika Services AG
Project description
ReCO₂ver is a process whereby concrete demolition waste is mechanically separated, after which the concrete waste is sorted, with the aid of additives, into its main components of grit, sand and powdery mineral material. The latter is then placed into a tank and subjected to carbonation using previously captured CO₂ from point sources and transformed into carbonate powder through mineralisation, which is blended for use in cement, concrete and mortar production. In addition to the storage of the separated CO₂ in the carbonate powder, by recycling the original components of the concrete waste this technology results in the reduced consumption of resources.
Status of the project (August 2023)
By 2026 it is anticipated that several plants will be operational and should capture 16,500 tonnes of CO₂ by 2030.
The project owner
Sika AG is a globally leading company in the development and production of construction aggregates.
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Sequestration of biogenic CO₂ in concrete granulate, zirkulit AG
Sequestration of biogenic CO₂ in concrete granulate, zirkulit AG
Project description
Zirkulit is a brand associated with recycled concrete that uses a special recipe to reduce the proportion of cement in the concrete, thus having a lower CO₂ footprint in comparison with standard concrete. The concrete granulate is additionally subjected to carbonation with biogenic CO₂ that is separated out in biogas plants, so that the CO₂ is captured in the concrete via the mineralisation process. The concrete is then sold as recycled concrete.
Status of the project (August 2023)
zirkulit AG aims to have several such storage plants in operation by 2025, which should result in around 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ being captured every year. The contractual quantity is 16,500 tonnes CO₂.
The project owner
zirkulit AG is a subsidiary of Eberhard Unternehmungen, which is a well-established company in the construction sector.
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BEST, Neustark AG
BEST, Neustark AG
Project description
Neustark AG has developed a process for storing CO₂ in recycled concrete and has successfully brought it to market. Firstly, liquefaction plants are built for the CO₂ that is separated off in biogas plants, and secondly, storage plants are constructed at concrete recycling plants, where the concrete granulate is carbonated with CO₂ in special reactor containers and this is permanently captured in the granulate via mineralisation. The programme focuses on the carbonation of concrete granulate, which is then not used for the production of recycled concrete but as loose gravel material in road construction, for example.
Status of the project (August 2023)
The contractual quantity is 16,500 tonnes of CO₂.
The project owner
Neustark AG was founded in 2019 as an ETH spinoff.
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Separation and sequestration of CO₂ at the biogas plant Nesselnbach, CO₂ Energie AG
Separation and sequestration of CO₂ at the biogas plant Nesselnbach, CO₂ Energie AG
Project description
The biogas plant in Nesselnbach produces methane from food waste for the feeding of biogas into the grid, separating off CO₂ from the biogas in the process. Since November 2022 a liquefaction plant has been operational, which prepares food-grade CO₂. Due to the expansion of the biogas plant, an additional processing plant for the natural gas input has also been built. The CO₂ that is separated off in the process will be liquefied in a separate plant as part of the project and then permanently stored underground . Since there are currently no such storage areas in Switzerland, the CO₂ will be transported by lorry, train and ship to storage areas abroad, which are already being built in Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Status of the project (August 2023)
The contractual quantity is 21,800 tonnes of CO₂.
The project owner
CO₂ Energie AG operates the biogas plant in Nesselnbach.
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TOGETHER, Neustark AG
TOGETHER, Neustark AG
Project description
As part of the project, Neustark AG intends to build liquefaction plants at different biogas plants in Switzerland that already separate off CO₂ in the process of natural gas processing and to transport the liquefied CO₂ abroad by lorry, train and ship to storage sites abroad. Destination countries are mainly Iceland, but also Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Great Britain.
Status of the project (August 2023)
The contractual quantity is 13,000 tonnes of CO₂.
The project owner
Neustark AG was founded in 2019 as an ETH spinoff.
