The increasing worldwide energy demand will aggravate environmental problems in general and the steep rise of CO_2 emissions in particular. This challenge can only be encountered by the development of efficient technologies and acting in a responsible way worldwide. With its high-efficient power plants and combined-cycle technology, Siemens Power Generation (SPG) is making a major contribution toward enhancing plant efficiency and thus reducing CO_2 emissions over the long term. The fastest and most cost-effective way of reducing the emissions from fossil-fueled power plants is to replace or upgrade existing older coal-fired stations. If today's installed fleet of coal-fired power plants in the EU were to be brought in line with the state of the art, the associated CO_2 emissions would be reduced by almost 20 %. If CO_2 emission has to be reduced by 60 or even 80 % and coal has to be used under such circumstances, an extensive separation of CO_2 from the power plant process will be of increasing importance as an option. This will be addressed in two of the large EC-funded integrated projects: ENCAP (enhanced CO_2 capture) based on pre-combustion CO_2 capture and CASTOR (CO_2 from capture to storage) aiming at post-combustion CO_2 capture. This contribution describes SPG's role as a driving force for development and demonstration of CO_2-free power stations. As an example, SPG will develop a new gas turbine burner system capable of hydrogen-rich syngas combustion with air as a salient part of the ENCAP project, ending up with an overall IGCC plant concept as most promising near-term option for CO_2-free fossil power generation. The overriding goal in this context is to provide station efficiencies including CO_2 removal which are comparable to those of conventional steam power plants without this option. As an alternative to air-blown systems, oxyfuel processes will become more and more important once an energy and cost-efficient oxygen supply is available in the mid-term future. Here, SPG is again engaged in projects aiming at the development of highly-selective membrane systems to fulfil those requirements. All the activities to be discussed in this paper illustrate that Siemens Power Generation is seriously committed to climate protection which also includes a significant contribution toward CO_2 emissions reduction expected of cogeneration, fuel cell technology, biomass projects and nuclear power plants.
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