Metal ions with radical centers in their coordination sphere are key participants in biological and catalytic processes. In the present study, we describe the synthesis of the cAAC:ZnCl2 adduct (1) using a cyclic alkylaminocarbene (cAAC) as donor ligand. Compound 1 was treated with 2 equiv of KC8 and LiB(sec-Bu)(3)H to yield a deep blue-colored dicarbene zinc compound (cAAC)(2)Zn (2) and the colorless hydrogenated zinc compound (cAACH)(2)Zn (3), respectively. Compounds 2 and 3 were well characterized by spectroscopic methods and single-crystal X-ray structural analysis. Density functional theory calculations were performed for 2 which indicate that this molecule possesses a singlet biradicaloid character. Moreover, we show the application of 2 in CO2 activation, which yields a zwitterionic cAAC center dot CO2 adduct.