Konzept, Potenzial und Risiken von BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage)

Concept, potential and risks of BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage): The large-scale application of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) represents a key feature in most existing climate mitigation scenarios to achieve climate mitigation targets. The idea is that plants are burned for energy production while the generated CO2 is captured and permanently stored underground. Such “negative emissions” can reduce the atmospheric CO2 content and theoretically compensate some of our historical emissions as well as hard-to-abate residual emissions. However, in particular the large land demand and associated environmental impacts of BECCS question its potential to make a significant and sustainable contribution to climate change mitigation. This chapter provides an overview about the concept, potential and problems of BECCS.