EEW Energy from Waste (EEW), based in Helmstedt, Germany, has joined forces with GEA Group, a global manufacturer of machinery and industrial plants headquartered in Düsseldorf, in a strategic move to accelerate the development of carbon capture solutions.

The newly announced partnership aims to test and enhance CO₂ capture technologies under real-world conditions, with a long-term goal of scaling them up for industrial use. As part of this collaboration, EEW has purchased a mobile CO₂ capture test plant from GEA, which is expected to begin operations in summer 2025 at EEW’s facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands.

This pilot plant will play a crucial role in assessing how CO₂ capture can be integrated into existing thermal waste recycling systems, while also evaluating its overall efficiency and scalability. By trialing the technology at various locations, EEW hopes to gain practical insights that will help advance its decarbonization strategy. 

“Together, we are focusing on state-of-the-art technologies for CO₂ capture in order to pave the way for large-scale implementation,” said Joachim Manns, the chief operating officer of the EEW Group.

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He added that the test facility marks a critical step towards bolstering energy efficiency and lowering the environmental load of their plants. “We are creating the basis for consistently implementing our decarbonization strategy,” Manns emphasized.

GEA is bringing its end-to-end carbon capture solutions to the table, covering everything from gas purification and heat extraction to CO₂ separation and liquefaction. These technologies are designed to significantly cut CO₂ emissions from industrial processes.

“With the new test plant and the technology used, we are supporting EEW in its decarbonization goal,” said Felix Ortloff, senior director of Carbon Capture Solutions at GEA. He believes carbon capture plays an important role in this entire process. 

At the same time, the partnership also highlights a growing concern in Germany: The absence of a clear regulatory framework. Despite technological readiness, both companies stress that large-scale CO₂ capture projects are stalled due to legal uncertainties around CO₂ transport, storage, and compensation mechanisms.

“We are in the starting blocks. But we need clear rules to get started,” said Dr. Manns. “The new federal government must deliver now. We need a regulatory framework that enables economically viable investment, CO₂ pipeline infrastructure, and funding to support first movers.”

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EEW’s operations could play a significant role in Germany’s climate goals. Over half of the CO₂ emissions from its thermal waste recycling plants are biogenic, meaning that if this carbon is captured and stored, it could result in negative emissions, a critical element in the fight against climate change.

With this partnership, EEW and GEA are advancing innovative technologies while pushing for the policy changes needed to bring carbon capture solutions into widespread industrial use.

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Source: Chemical Engineering