28 January 2026

Four members of the German Association for Negative Emissions (DVNE) have been successful in the 2025 funding competition of the Federal Funding Programme for Industry and Climate Action (BIK). Projects by Ucaneo, Phlair, NeoCarbon, and the MVV Group with its subsidiaries MVV Umwelt GmbH and MVV Biogas GmbH have been selected for funding.

The BIK programme is one of the central funding instruments of the German Federal Government to bring climate-friendly industrial technologies into application. Particularly encouraging: several of the awarded projects directly address carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere (CDR) and the permanent storage of carbon.

Federal Funding for Industry and Climate Action: Innovation for Industrial Transformation

Through the Federal Funding Programme for Industry and Climate Action (BIK), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) supports climate-friendly industrial innovation. The programme aims to accelerate the transformation of key industrial sectors and enable the market ramp-up of future-oriented technologies.

Funding is provided through two modules:

• Module 1 supports the decarbonisation of industrial processes, particularly through electrification and the use of hydrogen to generate climate-neutral process heat.
• Module 2 addresses CO₂ utilisation (CCU) and CO₂ storage (CCS) — and thus also technologies for generating negative emissions.

Overall, the BIK programme aims to save around 40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents by 2045. The recently concluded 2025 funding competition demonstrates the strong innovative capacity of German industry: 38 projects from a wide range of sectors receive funding totalling approximately €476 million. These projects are expected to leverage more than €1 billion in private investment. Four DVNE members have been selected with pioneering projects:

NeoCarbon GmbH – ANEWDACUS: From Air to Building Material

The ANEWDACUS joint project by NeoCarbon is developing a DAC system using innovative hollow-fibre absorbers that filter CO₂ from ambient air. The plant utilises waste heat from industrial facilities such as data centres and is modularly scalable.

The captured CO₂ is then permanently stored through carbonation in concrete. This creates a complete value chain for negative emissions — from CO₂ removal from the air to permanent storage in building materials.

Phlair GmbH – E3CO2-SUV: Direct Air Capture from Ambient Air

The E3CO2-SUV joint project coordinated by Phlair is developing an electrochemical direct air capture (DAC) system based on Phlair’s patented hydrolyser, which captures CO₂ directly from the ambient air. The consortium consists of Phlair, two German universities (TUM and RPTU) and a German industrial partner.

The aim is to build and operate a commercial DAC plant with optimised absorption and desorption processes and reduced energy consumption. The captured CO₂ will be used both as a raw material for polymers and stored in demolition concrete.

Ucaneo Biotech GmbH – DENI: Scalable DAC Demonstration Plant

With DENI, Ucaneo is constructing a demonstration plant in Berlin for an energy-efficient electrochemical DAC technology. The facility is scheduled to begin operation by 2027 and will be among the largest of its kind in Europe.

During a one-year test phase, the technology will be brought to market readiness. If successful, the project will strengthen Germany’s position as a leading location for scalable Direct Air Capture technologies.

MVV Biogas GmbH – BioCCUS: Negative Emissions from Biogas

With the BioCCUS project, MVV Biogas GmbH plans to permanently bind biogenic CO₂ emissions from biogas production in mineral material streams at its site in Bernburg (Saxony-Anhalt).

The CO₂ separated during biogas upgrading is purified, liquefied, and subsequently carbonated in mineral materials at a partner facility. The majority of the CO₂ can be certified as a carbon sink — creating genuine negative emissions. The project thus makes a significant contribution to establishing CO₂ utilisation technologies and reducing emissions in the waste and bioenergy sectors.

MVV Umwelt GmbH – CELINA: A Carbon Cycle from Waste

In the CELINA project, MVV Umwelt GmbH is coordinating the work of a consortium that aims to significantly reduce hard-to-avoid CO₂ emissions from waste recycling using a thermochemical gasification process.

Instead of incinerating waste, the contained carbon is converted into a feedstock for basic chemicals. The project lays the foundation for an industrial-scale plant that could replace an existing waste incineration line and reduce CO₂ emissions.

Why Public Funding Is So Important

Methods for CO₂ removal, utilisation, and storage are still transitioning from research to industrial application. Public funding programmes such as BIK are crucial to:

• enable pilot and demonstration plants
• reduce entrepreneurial risks
• stimulate investment in new markets
• accelerate the market ramp-up of key climate technologies

The selected projects show: climate protection and industrial competitiveness go hand in hand. We congratulate our members on this well-deserved funding success.

Stefan Schlosser
Managing Director, DVNE

Next BIK Funding Round: Prepare New Projects Now

The next funding competition of the Federal Funding Programme for Industry and Climate Action is scheduled for early 2026. Companies can submit innovative projects on low-carbon production processes as well as CDR, CCU and CCS technologies until 28 February 2026. For companies developing carbon dioxide removal or storage solutions, this is an excellent opportunity to launch pilot and demonstration projects.

Link to funding call Module 1
Link to funding call Module 2

Shaping the Ramp-Up of Negative Emissions Together

The success of our members in the BIK funding competition shows that Germany’s CDR sector is highly innovative and ready for the next step toward industrial-scale deployment. Become part of the DVNE and join us in shaping the market ramp-up of negative emissions in Germany and Europe.