Flue Gas Cleaning – Still a Key Topic in Power Generation
Flue gas cleaning remains a key topic in energy technology. Despite the growing share of renewable energy — approximately 48% of the EU electricity mix in 2025 and roughly 29% of electricity generation in the EU is still based on fossil fuels. Globally, this share is significantly higher at about 57%, while low-carbon technologies (renewables, hydropower, and nuclear energy) accounted for some 43% of electricity production in 2025.
Against this backdrop, the efficient and reliable removal of pollutants from flue gases is indispensable for complying with regulatory limits and achieving international climate targets. The focus continues to be on conventional pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), and particulate matter, but increasingly also on carbon dioxide (CO₂) and trace pollutants such as mercury.
In addition, other climate-relevant gases like methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and fluorinated gases (F-gases) are receiving growing attention. In accordance with the Paris Agreement, a balance between anthropogenic emissions and their removal by natural or technical sinks must be achieved in the second half of this century (net-zero target). This creates significant pressure on operators of thermal plants and on the further development of corresponding technologies, as dispatchable generation capacity must remain available in the energy system despite the massive expansion of renewables, meaning that fossil fuels will continue to be used in the future.
The vgbe Technical Committee “Chemistry & Emission Control” has been intensively addressing these issues for many years and promotes international exchange of experience. In this context, the “Flue Gas Cleaning Workshop 2026” was held in Lyon with around 40 participants from various European countries.
Technical Focus Areas of the Workshop
The reduction of nitrogen oxides in power plants and waste incineration facilities continues to be primarily achieved by selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR).
Contributions on SCR technology focused in particular on:
- Practical experience with catalyst regeneration and its impact on activity and service life
- Procurement strategies for catalysts and typical risks in tendering and quality assurance
In the field of SNCR, the current state of the art was presented, including optimisation approaches regarding the use of reducing agents, temperature windows, and emission reduction performance.
Another focus was on optimising existing flue gas cleaning systems. Topics discussed included:
- Operational and control strategies for flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) systems
- Efficiency improvements and modernisation of electrostatic precipitators (ESP)
- Practical experience from the comprehensive refurbishment of an existing ESP
Particular attention was given to modern semi-dry processes, which offer high removal efficiencies combined with reduced operating costs.
In addition, current results on mercury removal in lignite-fired power plants were presented, including measurement methods and optimisation measures.
In the field of CO₂ capture, both plant concepts and their integration into existing power plant processes were addressed. Key findings included:
- High-quality pre-cleaning of flue gas is crucial to minimise solvent degradation and operating costs of CO₂ capture systems
- Combinations of flue gas cleaning and heat recovery offer additional efficiency potential
Furthermore, new developments in the analysis and monitoring of trace elements in the CO₂ product stream were presented, which are relevant for transport, storage, and utilisation.
Following the technical presentations, two key topics were discussed in depth:
- Implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED 2.0)
Participants discussed the practical implications of stricter requirements. It was emphasised that more stringent BAT-AEL values are expected to become binding across all EU member states. For many existing plants, this represents a significant technical and economic challenge. - Market development for CO₂ capture technologies
Assessments of the future CCS market were mixed. On the one hand, there is uncertainty regarding regulatory frameworks and investment incentives. On the other hand, CCS was identified as an essential key technology for achieving climate targets.
Plants with high utilisation rates and continuous operation are considered particularly suitable. It was critically noted that industrial CO₂ sources with high purity have so far only been utilised to a limited extent. Ultimately, it was pointed out that market development will largely depend on political decisions and regulatory frameworks.
Networking
The engaging side program was made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of LAB.
The vgbe workshop team would like to thank all speakers for their insightful and practice-oriented contributions, all participants for their valuable input and active engagement, and our sponsor LAB for providing an excellent framework for effective networking.
The next Flue Gas Cleaning Workshop will take place in 2027. Venue and date will be announced in due time via the usual channels (vgbe Event calendar und LinkedIn ).
