PtX Lab Lausitz drives forward sustainable CO₂ utilisation
Copyright: PtX Lab Lausitz / Jens Jeske
Experts from PtX Lab Lausitz present approaches to a sustainable circular economy in the chemical and fuel industries, as well as the scaling up of PtX solutions.
Participants from across Europe and beyond – including Hungary, Norway and Saudi Arabia – gathered in Cologne on 28 and 29 April 2026 for the CO₂-based Fuels and Chemicals Conference 2026 to discuss current challenges and potential solutions in the field of CO₂-based fuels and chemicals.
The focus was on new technological perspectives, economic conditions and the question of how sustainable carbon utilisation can be systematically embedded.
Onboard Carbon Capture as a Building Block of a Circular Carbon Economy
In her presentation, Anita Demuth, Head of the PtX Mobility section, examined the technical and economic framework of onboard carbon capture technology as a decarbonisation strategy for shipping. The focus was on the potential role of Onboard Carbon Capture and Usage (OCCU) in a future circular economy.
The linking of shipping and aviation was presented as a possible scenario: carbon from sustainable maritime fuels could be captured and reused to produce hydrogen-based sustainable aviation fuels.
Copyright: PtX Lab Lausitz / Jens Jeske
Contributions on DAC and CO₂ markets
The PtX Lab Lausitz was represented at the conference with its own stand. Marvin Wenzel, PtX Technology Specialist, presented work on Direct Air Capture (DAC) and emphasised its potential as a scalable carbon source. In particular, he highlighted the significantly higher land efficiency compared to biogenic approaches.
During a poster session, Dr Irina Akhmetova, expert for PtX Feedstocks, presented the concept of the project “Turning Emission to Feedstock: Mapping Europe’s CO₂ market for fuels and chemicals”. The focus was on how CO₂ can be established as a tradable resource within a European carbon economy. Marvin Wenzel provided insights into the project “Assessment of electrolysis technologies with regard to the sustainability criteria of the PtX Lab Lausitz”.
Copyright: PtX Lab Lausitz / Jens Jeske
Scaling up requires more than renewable energy
The conference discussions highlighted several overarching trends: Direct Air Capture is increasingly seen as a promising, land-efficient source of carbon. At the same time, there remain significant gaps in certification frameworks for sustainable materials compared to fuels.
Furthermore, the potential of AI was highlighted, particularly through improved global data analysis to accelerate CCU technologies.
The conference made it clear that scaling up PtX fuel production goes far beyond the provision of hydrogen and renewable energy. Equally crucial are sustainable carbon sources, functioning CO₂ markets and integrated, cross-sector value chains.
Contact
Dr
Sarah Bernhardt
Head of Section PtX Basic Materials
+49 173 56 150 72
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more information
Contact
Anita Demuth
Head of Section PtX Mobility
+49 152 28 400 735
Write E-Mail
more information
