Mission statement
The Competence Centre on Climate Change Mitigation in Energy-Intensive Industries (KEI) provides support and funding for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions to energy-intensive industries in Germany. The Centre’s work focuses on producers of basic materials such as steel, chemicals, cement, lime, non-ferrous metals, glass, paper and ceramics, as well as other relevant parts of energy-intensive industries with process-related emissions. High greenhouse gas emissions present these producers with particular challenges to achieving the goal of net zero by 2045, as recently enshrined in German law.
Structure
The Competence Centre is a division within Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). Headquartered in Cottbus (around 100 km south of Berlin) the Centre actively contributes to structural development in the Lusatian region.
A motivated team of experts in various technical and economic disciplines provides qualified and specialised support to partners in manufacturing as they engage in this demanding and complex transformation.
The work of the KEI is supported by an Advisory Council that offers input for the Centre’s thematic development and orientation. The Council also ensures transparency and the involvement of relevant interest groups.
Project sponsor
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has tasked the KEI with supporting the ‘Decarbonisation of Industry’ funding programme. This programme aims to help German manufacturers become both sustainable and fit for the future. Not least because, in energy-intensive industries, boosting energy efficiency will not be enough in itself to achieve climate-neutral production by 2045. This target can only be reached with full-scale reductions to process-related emissions as well as fossil fuels. On the production side, the transformation of production technologies and process flows will usually be needed. The resulting electrification of process steps and the greater use of hydrogen will drive significantly greater demand for electricity and hydrogen that must be provided by climate-neutral supply systems running on renewable energy. As project sponsor, the KEI supports the development and rollout of mature technologies for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions to German industries.
With our consultation and funding services, we aim to accelerate the transformation of energy-intensive industries along the road towards climate neutrality by 2045.
Think Tank
The transformation of energy-intensive industries is a huge and complex challenge whose knock-on effects along the value chain are felt in many other areas of the economy. Therefore, alongside its focus on the manufacturing sector, the Competence Centre also works with government and research, as well as the general public. For this group of actors, the KEI offers a platform for interdisciplinary, industry-wide dialogue. This helps to consolidate and transfer the knowledge needed for decarbonisation so as to accelerate innovation.
To support technical dialogue with industry partners on issues related to decarbonisation, the KEI cooperates regularly with many partners to host the KEI Expert Forums and the KEI Podium, as well as other event formats.
Copyright: KEI, Erik Krüger
Cluster Decarbonisation in Industries (CDI)
The KEI also works together with other institutions in the Cluster Decarbonisation in Industries with the aim of contributing solutions to achieve net-zero manufacturing. The initiators are the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU), the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems IEG, the Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the KEI. The KEI also operates the CDI Coordination Office in Cottbus.
Event series at KEI
Contact
At a glance
Established: 2019
Team: over 30 members of staff
A division of Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH
Client: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
