Recap of the NEFI Technology Talk "CO₂ as a Resource – Technologies and Opportunities"

CO₂ is increasingly becoming a valuable resource. In energy-intensive industrial sectors such as steel, chemicals and cement, Capture, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS) offers new pathways towards climate neutrality. The key challenge now is to advance these technologies conceptually and translate them into concrete industrial applications.

Guided by this principle, the NEFI Technology Talk “CO₂ as a Resource – Technologies and Opportunities” took place on October 16^th at the Technical University of Leoben.

Organised with the involvement of David Banasiak (Technical University of Leoben), representatives from industry, research and technology development, together with the HUB Co-Leads of the CCUS HUB, engaged in a joint discussion on the theme “CO₂ as a feedstock for a climate-neutral industry.”

Expert Presentations on Current Developments

The expert presentations offered a comprehensive overview of current developments in CCU/S research — spanning capture technologies, application potentials and demonstration projects.

Following words of welcome and an introduction to the NEFI innovation network by David Banasiak and Kerstin Pfleger-Schopf (Technical University of Leoben), Susanne Hochmeister (Technical University of Leoben) opened the substantive programme with her keynote. She examined current trends, technologies and challenges in the field of Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage.

This was followed by in-depth specialist contributions addressing various technological domains:

• Marlene Kienberger (Technical University of Graz) presented new approaches to CO₂ capture, demonstrating how innovative CO₂ solvents can reduce energy demand to less than half that of MEA.
  Markus Lehner (Technical University of Leoben), speaking on behalf of Christoph Markowitsch (Technical University of Leoben), introduced chemical–catalytic and biological pathways for CO₂ utilisation — ranging from the production of ammonia and methanol to outputs of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis.
• Gerwin Drexler-Schmid (AIT) illustrated, drawing on the CCUpScale and CEUS-PPI projects, how CO₂ system integration can be realised in practice. CCUpScale, for example, permanently binds CO₂ in serpentinite rock using MCi Carbon technology, enabling its use as a construction material. CEUS-PPI, in turn, investigates the thermal integration of CCU routes in the pulp and paper industry — an important contribution to enhancing efficiency and improving the economic viability of future CCU applications.
• A particular highlight was the presentation of the DirectCCE project, an innovative approach to “cold” CO–H₂ syngas production. David Banasiak and Ramin Ghiami Sardroud (Technical University of Leoben), together with Markus Haider, Felix Ettlinger and Martin Schultz (TU Wien), outlined the technological foundations, experimental results and pathways towards industrial scale-up.

Exchange and Networking

Following a coffee break, Claire Cance (Climate and Energy Fund) presented the new RTI call “Transformation of Industry 2025”, which provides funding opportunities for research projects as well as pilot and demonstration plants aimed at climate-neutral industrial production.

In the subsequent workshop, held in a World Café format, participants — moderated by the CCU/S Hub Co-Leads — jointly developed project ideas for future CCU/S initiatives. Discussions centred on identifying the most urgent research needs, the technologies that should be prioritised, and how strong consortia can be formed from innovative concepts.

Conclusion

The afternoon made it abundantly clear: the utilisation of CO₂ as a feedstock is no longer a topic of the distant future, but a crucial component in industrial transformation. Even today, bilateral agreements between CCU plant operators and off-takers can enable economically viable projects.

Collaboration, technological innovation and targeted funding remain the key factors for the successful implementation of CCU/S in Austria.