Permanently stored, permanently trapped? A study on the risk of carbon lock-in through the German-Norwegian partnership in CCS and hydrogen

Abstract: As the climate crisis becomes more severe, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly seen as a viable option to help mitigate climate change. However, one risk with regard to CCS is that it locks us into the use of carbon-based energy sources and industry, creating a carbon lock-in. Looking at the German-Norwegian partnership to store German CO2 in Norway and to provide hydrogen in return, this thesis investigates how this partnership creates a carbon lock-in in Germany. The results of the qualitative content analysis and semi-structured interviews show that the CCS partnership and its concrete projects unfold both infrastructural and technological, as well as institutional carbon lock-in mechanisms. Thus, CCS is problematic as it upholds the status quo of fossil-based energy sources and industry, inhibiting real change towards a fossil-free and zero-emission world, while at the same time being promoted as a necessary technology to reach Germany’s climate goals.