Construction work at Germany's experimantal "Wendelstein" fusion reactor. Image by Max Planck Gesellschaft
Dossier
12 Jun 2025, 09:48
Global
Novel approaches will be key for solving the climate crisis

Frontier climate technologies: Telling real solutions apart from wishful thinking

As the impacts of rising temperatures become increasingly acute around the world, the fight against climate change is entering a new phase. Society and the economy have largely agreed on "conventional" methods of cutting emissions – most notably, an energy transition that replaces fossil fuels with clean electricity wherever possible, including in transport, heating and industry. This approach can take us close to climate neutrality, but we will need to go further. Societies must now decide which emerging technologies to adopt. How about artificial trees that extract carbon from the air? Or recreating the conditions inside the Sun to generate electricity? The good news: Science already offers clear guidance on where to invest time and money.

About this dossier

In the increasingly urgent fight against climate change, countless new technologies are being touted as future solutions – from novel carbon dioxide removal methods to nuclear fusion. But what role can these frontier technologies truly play?

Media reports, political debates and talk shows often suggest that we’re still in the early stages of exploring their potential. But that's far from the truth. Researchers can clearly distinguish viable solutions from wishful thinking, and the following Q&As reflect the expert consensus. A key insight: Relevance in public debates doesn’t necessarily translate into relevance in the fight against climate change.

It’s high time scientists' insights shaped public discussions, so that policies are guided by evidence rather than hype. Our blog post Journalists must cover “zany” climate solutions – with extra care, which is based on the input of the Economist's science and technology editor Alok Jha, explains why frontier climate technologies demand urgent media attention – and how journalists can approach the topic responsibly.

Carbon capture and storage

Photo: INEOS Energy

Q&A: Carbon capture and storage - Hype or hope for a cooler planet?

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is quickly gaining massive importance in Germany, at the EU level, and globally as an essential element of climate action. The technology sounds like a convenient solution to the climate crisis: capturing CO2 from the use of fossil fuels in power plants and factories and storing it underground. But many applications remain controversial, because of high costs, immature technology and the risk of diverting attention from immediate emission cuts. This Q&A answers the most prominent questions around CCS, based on the consensus of science.

In a nutshell: Using carbon capture and storage (CCS) for climate action

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as a crucial technology for climate action, especially in industries where emissions are very hard to avoid, such as cement production. However, it is expensive, energy-intensive, still in its infancy, and cannot yet reduce emissions to zero. In the energy sector, there are currently simpler, cheaper, and more effective climate solutions available than installing CCS in fossil fuel power plants. This factsheets sums up the most important facts about CCS.

Photo: Heidelberg Materials

Carbon capture essential for scaling net-zero concrete – global cement producer

Carbon capture is set to play a key role in decarbonising the cement and concrete industry, says Jan Theulen, Group Lead Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) at Heidelberg Materials, one of the world's largest cement makers. The company’s strategy combines the use of biogenic waste as fuel with CO₂ capture to pave the way for climate-neutral concrete. But to scale carbon capture and storage (CCS), technical innovation alone won’t be enough — a coordinated approach to CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure is also crucial, Theulen told Clean Energy Wire in this interview.

Image: Global CCS Institute.

Q&A – CCS makes comeback as Germany and the EU strive for climate neutrality

Years of protest against industry plans to use carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a lifeline for coal power have made the technology a no-go issue for many politicians in Germany, Europe and beyond. Yet, countries' goals of climate neutrality around mid-century reopened the debate on the issue of combatting CO2 emissions that are difficult to avoid, for example in cement production. Parties, including the German Greens, are realigning their official stance, and the country's former coalition government presented first policy and law drafts to pave the way for the necessary technologies. However, it failed to adopt these in parliament and the new government has said it aims to continue the efforts. This Q&A provides a brief explanation of CCS, the history of public opposition and the status quo of the debate in Germany and the EU.

Nuclear fusion

Image by BMBF

Q&A: Nuclear fusion - Hype or hope for a cooler planet?

Nuclear fusion could provide limitless, safe, climate-friendly energy - in theory. Countries such as Germany, the US, China, Japan and the UK, as well as the European Union, are investing billions of euros in developing this technology. But is it a viable strategy for achieving climate neutrality, as some proponents suggest? Or is it a harmful distraction from other methods of reducing emissions, as sceptics argue? This Q&A addresses the most significant questions surrounding nuclear fusion, based strictly on scientific consensus.

Image by Focused Energy

Europe must build on nuclear fusion headstart to complement renewables – startup

Nuclear fusion technology presents a huge chance for European industry, which the continent must pursue without delaying the rollout of renewable energies, says Markus Roth, co-founder of nuclear fusion startup Focused Energy. “It’s not a question of either/or. We need both”, Roth told Clean Energy Wire in this interview. He said Germany is currently moving ahead in the global race for fusion energy, and is attracting US researchers and startups who are considering emigration in the face of the US administration’s attack on science. “This is a clear opportunity for Germany and Europe that we must use,” Roth said, who insisted that Europe’s massive ITER fusion research project is inherently slow compared to competing startups.

Image by Proxima Fusion

Investors bet record €130mln on German fusion startup Proxima

German startup Proxima Fusion has raised 130 million euros from private investors. The record funding reflects both growing optimism that nuclear fusion will provide plentiful and clean energy in the not-too-distant future, and Europe’s progress in establishing a global research lead. Proxima will use the money to build an extremely complex magnet, which is central to its approach, and soon choose a European country for a demonstrator fusion power plant. The company’s eventual aim is to “deliver limitless, safe, clean fusion energy to the grid in the 2030s” – a timeline many observers believe is unrealistic. Read the full article here.

All texts created by the Clean Energy Wire are available under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0)” . They can be copied, shared and made publicly accessible by users so long as they give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

Ask CLEW

Researching a story? Drop CLEW a line or give us a call for background material and contacts.

Get support

+49 30 62858 497

Journalism for the energy transition

Get our Newsletter
Join our Network
Find an interviewee