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Research Department:
Closed Carbon Cycle Economy

In the long term, the problems associated with anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions can only be solved if our entire social and economic system can be converted to largely closed carbon cycles - the atmosphere must not be polluted with large quantities of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases through the use of carbon, which is indispensable in parts. This concerns the way in which we generate electricity as well as the provision of process heat for industry, heating for buildings, energy for mobility requirements and last but not least the provision of carbon-containing raw materials for the (chemical) industry. Germany will only be able to maintain its role as a leading industrial nation if the transition to closed carbon cycles takes place without catastrophic breaks, and if at the same time it succeeds in developing solutions and technologies that can be transferred to other countries and exported accordingly. Ultimately, it is a question of solving global problems.

In discussions with colleagues from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT) in Oberhausen, which is affiliated with the Ruhr University, the term Closed Carbon Cycle Economy has emerged. This will include technical and social aspects of the long-term conversion of electricity, heat, fuel and (chemical) raw material supply to closed carbon cycles beyond the usual, mostly one-sided technology-driven concepts. Such an approach involves a multitude of fundamental and application-oriented technical/scientific challenges, but also raises many questions in the humanities and social sciences.

As a comprehensive university with outstandingly proven and internationally networked scientists in the engineering, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, the Ruhr-Universität offers ideal conditions for dealing with all issues on the way to a Closed Carbon Cycle Economy. The term Closed Carbon Cycle Economy is understood as a generic term for the two fields of Closed Carbon Cycle Technology (i.e. the scientific/technical prerequisites for a transition to closed carbon cycles) and Closed Carbon Cycle Society (i.e. the social structures under which closed carbon cycles can be realised) that interact at many levels. Only by taking both aspects into account can viable economic concepts be realized that are a prerequisite for a successful transition.

In the following clip Prof. Span briefly presents the RUB and the RD CCCE: