CDRmare experts at science policy breakfast and subsequent press briefing

… on the topic “Opportunities and obstacles of marine geological CO₂ storage”. The science policy event, organised by the German Alliance for Marine Research, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the research mission CDRmare, took place in the premises of the Bundestag in Berlin (Jakob-Kaiser-Haus) on March 31, 2023. More than 50 interested stakeholders from politics, society and industry came together. Afterwards, our CDRmare experts answered questions from media representatives in a press briefing.

Mario Brandenburg, patron of the event and Parliamentary State Secretary of the BMBF, opened the science policy breakfast on “Opportunities and obstacles of marine geological CO₂ storage”. He emphasised that the discussion with members of the Bundestag (German Parliament) about the suitability of geological structures in the ocean for storing CO₂ from the atmosphere is of great importance. The scientific knowledge for action should be taken into account for implementation pathways to reach our climate goals.

Subsequently, Andreas Oschlies (co-speaker of CDRmare and coordinator of RETAKE), Klaus Wallmann (coordinator of GEOSTOR) and Alexander Proelß (legal expert in CDRmare) explained all aspects of the two options for marine geological CO₂ storage being studied within CDRmare: First, CO₂ storage in sandstone formations of the German North Sea (GEOSTOR). The technological, economic, and scientific maturity of this method calls for further developments and analysis in a demonstration project. On the other hand, for storing CO₂ in basalt in the mid-ocean ridge, where fundamental technological and economic questions still have to be conclusively clarified. Annekatrin Lehmann from the German Alliance for Marine Research guided through the event and discussion.

After the breakfast, a press briefing was held with journalists from German media like DER SPIEGEL, BR radio and the klimareporter°. In addition to the three experts mentioned above, Gregor Rehder (co-speaker of CDRmare and coordinator of ASMASYS) and Oliver Geden (climate policy expert in ASMASYS) answered questions from the media.

As part of the events, a policy brief was published on the topic: “Opportunities and obstacles of marine geological CO₂ storage” (only available in German).

The CDRmare team would like to thank all contributors for these successful events!

Fotos: Anke Beims & Jana Wölfel