Meet the Partners

Fraunhofer IAO

Supporting Societal Integration of Carbon Capture Technologies for Sustainable Urban Development

Introducing Fraunhofer

The Fraunhofer Society is the largest organization for applied research in Europe. Based in Stuttgart, Germany, the Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) hosts the competence centre for urban systems engineering, which supports the ACCSESS consortia. In the scope of diverse research projects, the teams of scientists apply methods of analysis and design with the goal of shaping liveable and climate-friendly cities.

Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering – Stuttgart, Germany
Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering – Stuttgart, Germany

Our key areas of research focus on:

We therefore strive to support cities in pursuing sustainable urban development strategies and assist in the implementation of innovations (technological, nature-based and governance related) that help cities to become more future-proof.

How Fraunhofer works with CCS

As climate change is too big of a challenge to be solved alone, our support through a cross-sectoral collaboration across the ACCSESS project leads to an increased awareness of the urgency of climate change, and science-driven solutions like CCS to make a difference. We view Carbon Capture and Storage as a promising new technology in slowing down and addressing the effects of climate change. CCS is a novel research area for the Fraunhofer IAO, and we are keen to identify the impact and potential of this technology for sustainable urban development.

Man catching cloud of CO2 with a net.

Our contribution to ACCSESS

Through our interdisciplinary approach we are focussing on social and governance aspects of CCS through the application of interviews, surveys, workshops, and desktop research with relevant stakeholders. Thereby we will provide the following outcomes to the project:
  • Citizens’ Acceptance and Concerns Report: Insights gathered in a citizen survey on the public concerns and perceived benefits around the implementation of CCS, drawing on practical examples. This will serve to prepare information and education materials for citizens, cities, other stakeholders as well as ACCSESS partners, with the objective of increasing awareness and transmitting important information on the benefits and challenges of CCS technologies.
  • Neutral solution packages for replication: Through an in-depth research method, we aim to create neutral information packages to help cities understand, implement and replicate the solutions offered through CCS according to different local circumstances.
  • CCS Handbook for sustainable urban development: We will design a targeted handbook on the potential of CCS implementation to contribute to sustainable urban development. An online survey will be conducted to assess the main strategic pillars and elements of existing urban carbon neutrality and climate mitigation strategies in selected cities. The handbook will be elaborated to describe the main opportunities and related fields of action for cities with regards to CCS.
If you would like to learn more about Fraunhofer IAO or our contribution to the project, feel free to reach out to our research team.

Contact

Hendrik Frieling, M.Sc. Research Coordinator Morgenstadt

Interdisciplinary researcher team at Fraunhofer IAO, Stuttgart, Germany
Interdisciplinary researcher team at Fraunhofer IAO, Stuttgart, Germany