Börse Express – Austria leads international research cooperation for climate-friendly industry
COP 26 in Glasgow: Climate Protection Minister Gewessler announces new Mission Innovation Partnership “Net-Zero Industries”. The focus is on climate neutrality in heavy industry.
Vienna (OTS) – The energy-intensive industries of steel, cement and chemicals require extremely high temperatures and large amounts of energy for their production. They are responsible for a good quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. The potential for avoiding CO2 is correspondingly large – it is around 60 gigatons globally by 2050 2030. The Mission Innovation members, led by Austria and Australia, are developing a mission to respond to this challenge. Partner organizations such as UNIDO and LeadIT support this initiative.
The MI partnership aims to mobilize new investments in the development of key technologies by 2030 to enable reliable, inexpensive and emission-free production of steel, cement and chemicals. Research over the next ten years will be crucial to further develop innovative industrial processes and technologies that will enable radical reductions in global CO2 emissions – as in the Paris Agreement. The rapid deployment of technologies is the order of the day.
Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler announced this international cooperation today at the World Climate Conference in Glasgow. The Climate and Energy Fund is responsible for operational management in Austria.
“A climate-friendly industry is an important pillar in the fight against the climate crisis. As an industrial nation with many years of experience in the field of climate-friendly innovation funding, we take responsibility and want to make a significant contribution, ”says Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler. “Through the cooperation of private and public partners, sustainable solutions can be developed. I am pleased to announce the “Net-Zero Industries Mission” and to the cooperation with our international partners. This international cooperation is also a great economic boost for a sustainable and green industrial sector. “
“The use and rapid development of new low-emission technologies is of crucial importance in order to be able to achieve ‘Net-Zero’ for all countries. That’s why we’re partnering with Mission Innovation to drive investment and practical action in research, development and demonstration. We are proud that we will lead the ‘Net-Zero Industries Mission’ together with Austria “, says Angus Taylor, Australian Minister for Industry, Energy and Emission Reduction.
Austria’s pioneering role
As early as the 1950s, a new, resource-saving process for steel production started its triumphal march around the world from Austria: the Linz-Donawitz process (LD process). Today, 60 to 70 percent of all steel around the world is produced using the LD process. 70 years later, a new technology revolution is required that enables the complete decarbonization of energy-intensive industries.
Climate and Energy Fund Managing Director Theresia Vogel: “Through our long-term cooperation with industry, we know that. For a complete decarbonization of these energy-intensive industries, disruptive innovations are necessary, so to speak a Linz-Donawitz process of the 21st century.” The 10-year mission is planned for the first half of 2022.
Austria contributes expertise to the “Net-Zero Industries Mission” and benefits from the profit advantages: ensuring climate neutrality for domestic industry and export opportunities for plant construction and creating jobs. This makes a further contribution to prosperity in Austria.
Mission innovation
Mission Innovation (MI), founded in 2015, is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Commission with the aim of accelerating innovation in energy technologies. Austria has been a member since 2018 and is represented by the Climate Protection Ministry (BMK).
MI countries share high development risks that cannot be borne by a single country. Each mission takes on a major unresolved clean energy challenge. THEY are implemented in a results-oriented manner by an alliance of countries, companies and research submissions and designed for a period of ten years. [http://mission-innovation.net/] (http://mission-innovation.net/)