To tackle climate change effectively, global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions must be radically reduced. In view of the continued increase in energy demand worldwide, E.ON's efforts to achieve technological advances in conventional generation make an important contribution to the avoidance of carbon emissions. Fossil fuels like coal provide much of the world's electricity but won't be fully replaced by low-emission generating technologies for decades to come. That's why the utility industry is focusing its research and development on an innovative process called carbon capture and storage (CCS), which would make it possible to generate electricity from coal with nearly zero emissions. That would mean that the world's coal reserves (which estimates predict will last for more than 100 years) could be used to provide a secure, affordable, and climate-friendly supply of electricity. These processes are developed to supplement coal-fired power plants but will also be used at gas and biomass plants; to use them with biomass will create a negative emission output.

Three promising carbon-capture method are currently being developed for coal-fired power plants: post-combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, and oxyfuel combustion. E.ON is actively involved in the development of all three. Our main focus is on post-combustion capture because it's suitable for retrofitting onto existing power plants.

Carbon transport and storage are, along with carbon capture, essential components of our strategy for climate-friendly power production. We're therefore conducting R&D projects in these areas, as well.

The pages that follow provide detailed information about these promising technologies and about our many CCS projects.