EU too Confident on Carbon Capture, Germans Say

German energy bosses and government officials question European Commission calls for mandatory use of carbon capture when burning coal after 2020, saying Brussels is too confident about the technology’s future.

“Even under optimistic assumptions, coal will become ever more efficient, but not really carbon dioxide-free, for one or two decades,” said Wulf Bernotat, chief executive of major utility E.ON.

“You can’t dictate future technologies like in a planned economy,” he told an energy conference in Berlin last week.
Germany’s E.ON and RWE are among major power generators that want to cut the pollution caused by burning coal for electricity in a world worried about climate change.

They have launched studies on capturing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), which is produced in vast amounts by burning coal, and burying it under the ground or the seabed.

The success of tests at pilot plants will depend on whether storage will be available and at what expense, Bernotat said.

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