General Assembly Brought Together Researchers from the Second Phase of CDRterra in Kassel

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From 24 to 26 June, approximately 120 researchers from the 17 collaborative projects of CDRterra’s second funding phase met for the first General Assembly in Kassel. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) with approximately €33 million, the research programme brings together 56 institutions across Germany. The General Assembly marked the start of programme-wide collaboration in the second funding phase, with the project consortia presenting their research, aligning common priorities, and initiating new cross-project collaborations.

New Research Priorities in the Second Funding Phase

The second funding phase builds on the results of the first phase while advancing selected research areas. Whereas the initial phase explored a broad range of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) approaches, assessing their potential, limitations, and interactions and establishing scientific assessment frameworks, the new collaborative projects focus on further developing these approaches and investigating the conditions under which they could be deployed in practice.

The General Assembly centred on four overarching research priorities: advancing applications of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), including new concepts for the use of biogenic residues and cascading biomass utilisation; developing new applications of Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS); further improving land-based CDR approaches; and investigating the policy and regulatory frameworks required to support a future scale-up of carbon dioxide removal.

Building the Scientific Foundation for Scaling Up Carbon Dioxide Removal

“To achieve greenhouse gas neutrality, we must reduce emissions as rapidly and extensively as possible while significantly expanding carbon dioxide removal. For this scale-up to succeed, we need robust scientific evidence on the contribution different approaches can make and the conditions under which they can be deployed effectively. These are precisely the questions at the heart of CDRterra’s second funding phase,” said Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz, spokesperson for CDRterra and Chair of Physical Geography and Land Use Systems at LMU Munich.

“In the first funding phase, we established an important foundation through the development of a common assessment framework and a future scenario for carbon dioxide removal in Germany. We are now extending this approach to additional application areas and integrating it more closely with the work of the CDRmare research mission. This will enable us to assess land- and ocean-based CDR approaches on a common basis in the future,” said Dr. Felix Havermann, Scientific Coordinator of CDRterra at LMU Munich.

Exchange and Networking

In addition to scientific workshops, the General Assembly provided opportunities for exchange with the partner programme CDRmare and representatives of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space on current developments in research and innovation policy related to carbon dioxide removal. The Early Career Scientists Forum also presented its activities and fostered networking among early-career researchers across the CDRterra community.