CDRnext

Integrating CDR into European climate policy by developing sustainable economic and regulatory frameworks

To achieve global climate goals, unavoidable CO₂ must be actively removed from the atmosphere. However, there is currently a lack of viable economic models and clear policy frameworks for this. This is where the CDRnext project comes in: An interdisciplinary research team is developing ways to integrate CO₂ removal into European climate policy in a sustainable manner.

Project management

Prof. Dr. Christoph Weber

Universität Duisburg-Essen House of Energy, Climate & Finance Lehrstuhl für Energiewirtschaft

Projekt duration

01.11.2025 – 30.10.2028

Project partner

Prof Dr. Christoph Weber, Sarah Großkopf, Universität Duisburg-Essen (UDE)|Dr. Oliver Geden, Dr. Nicoletta Brazzola, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)|Dr. Michael Pahle, Darius Sultani, Postdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung (PIK)

Project goals

Removing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere, also known as Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), is essential for achieving global climate goals. Reducing emissions alone is no longer sufficient to meet these goals. Active CO₂ removal is also necessary to offset emissions that cannot be avoided for technical or economic reasons. For this endeavor, the CDRnext project focuses primarily on two methods: DACCS and BECCS. While DACCS (Direct Air Capture and Carbon Storage) removes CO₂ directly from the ambient air using specialized filter systems, BECCS (Bioenergy and Carbon Capture and Storage) combines the energy use of biomass with CO₂ capture. The CO₂ captured in this way can then be transported via an appropriate infrastructure either to permanent geological storage or reused as a raw material in industrial processes. For these technologies to have a meaningful impact on climate change, they must be massively scaled up in the coming years. However, the challenges involved are significant: It remains unclear how these methods can be used on a large scale in an economically viable and sustainable manner. Furthermore, there is a lack of appropriate legislation, regulatory frameworks, and markets at the policy level to effectively regulate CO₂ removal. This is where the CDRnext project comes in. The central research question is: How can CO₂ removal best be integrated into the European Union’s (EU) existing climate policy? To answer this question, the project brings together experts from the fields of economics, engineering, and political science. The research team is investigating which business models will work for companies in the future and how an infrastructure for CO₂ transport must be established and regulated. The overarching goal of CDRnext is to identify pathways toward a sustainable legal framework that balances political governance with economic feasibility. Through these practical findings, the project will significantly support the EU in optimally revising its key climate legislation for the crucial decade from 2031 to 2040.