PyCCS-2050

PyCCS-2050 prepares the pyrolysis industry for sustainable scaling towards 2050 – through fundamental research, technical innovations and the further development of MRV systems.

The pyrolysis industry is growing exponentially, but to become climate-relevant by 2050, it needs lowered barriers and new pathways. PyCCS-2050 develops these: biochar-based fertilisers, platform chemicals from bio-oil, ammonia synthesis from pyrolysis gas, and CO2 capture in an alkalinity/carbonation reactor – creating the foundation for using all pyrolysis products as carbon sinks with sound measurement, reporting and verification procedures for national CDR inventories and CDR trading.

Project management

Prof. Dr. Jens Hartmann
Universität Hamburg

Projekt duration

01.04.2026 – 31.03.2029

Project partner

Prof. Dr. Jens Hartmann, Reinaldy Poetra, University of Hamburg (UHH)|Dr. Nikolas Hagemann, Ithaka Institute (ITH)|Prof. Dr. Claudia Kammann, Hochschule Geisenheim University (HGU)|Dr. Susanne Hamburger, Prof. Dr. Moritz Wagner, Hochschule Geisenheim University (HGU)|Prof. Dr. Daniel Kray, Prof. Dr. Heide Biollaz, Offenburg University of Applied Sciences (HSO)|Dr. Jörg Hofmann, Dr. Marcus Lange, Institut für Nichtklassische Chemie e.V. (INC)

Project goals

The pyrolysis industry is growing exponentially and for good reason: biochar improves soils and stores carbon long-term, bio-oil and pyrogas provide climate-neutral energy, and pyrolysis plants offer sustainable recycling pathways for biogenic residues even when contaminated with plastics or forever-chemicals. This makes PyCCS one of the leading CDR technologies worldwide today. However, to become truly climate-relevant by 2050, the industry must undergo a profound transformation. Revenue from heat and power will diminish as renewable energy becomes cheaper (solar, wind, combined with heat pumps and batteries) – new business models are needed. At the same time, using biochar alone is insufficient to sequester enough CO2. PyCCS-2050 develops the foundations for this transformation: we investigate how bio-oil can yield platform chemicals for long-lived products, how pyrolysis gas can be used for ammonia synthesis via the Haber-Bosch process, and how CO2 from pyrolysis plant exhaust gases can be permanently captured by alkalinity/carbonation reactors. For agriculture, we develop industrially scalable biochar fertilisers and study their effects under future CO2 concentrations. In parallel, we examine how biomass can be sourced sustainably and how CDR can be reliably measured and certified.