{
  "id": 1652172,
  "title": "Güterverkehr: DB Cargo drängt in unbekanntes Geschäftsfeld",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/guterverkehr-db-cargo-drangt-in-unbekanntes-geschaftsfeld",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-18T05:52:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/dienstleister/gueterverkehr-db-cargo-setzt-auf-co-transport-als-weg-aus-der-verlustzone/100247023.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "DB Cargo, Europe's largest rail transport company, is venturing into a new business sector of transporting captured CO₂ via rail. In an interview, Bernhard Osburg, the company's CEO, stated that they are capable of safely transporting four million tons of CO₂ annually across Europe. This strategy would be viable within three years if Germany's largest CO₂ emitters decide to invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities. The primary customers for this service would be waste incineration plants, cement and lime factories, which together account for eight percent of CO₂ emissions in Germany. DB Cargo hopes to provide a solution for these companies and avoid being broken up by the EU Commission, as they have been receiving state subsidies for years. The company has already managed to turn a near-black profit in the first half of 2026, but the sustainability of this position remains uncertain. To begin, DB Cargo plans to produce around 200 specialized cooling wagons capable of storing CO₂ at -30 degrees Celsius and withstand internal pressure of 15 bar. These wagons are already technically feasible, but the production rate is currently very low. The company is uncertain whether to produce them in-house or lease them from third-party companies like VTG. The lack of pipeline development in Germany is also contributing to the growth of this new business sector. For example, Rotterdam's harbor has a 32-kilometer long pipeline leading to an underwater storage station, but construction of a pipeline from Rotterdam to Duisburg has not even begun. DB Cargo's CEO, Osburg, emphasizes that they have been waiting too long for the pipeline and that the potential market for CO₂ logistics is significant. They currently have access to 1000 rail terminals across Germany, and smaller producers of CO₂ are also being offered dedicated wagon transport. Additionally, there are discussions underway with port authorities in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Rostock, and Aalborg, with the first offshore storage location in the EU set to begin operations near Rotterdam. Despite the challenges of carbon capture and storage (CCS), the potential for CO₂ transportation and storage remains significant, with one cubic meter of frozen CO₂ equivalent to double the size of the Cologne Cathedral, costing around 200 euros to transport per ton.",
  "summary": "Die finanziell unter Druck geratene Güterbahn will schon Anfang der 30er-Jahre vier Millionen Tonnen CO₂ auf der Schiene transportieren. Doch die technischen Hürden sind beachtlich.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}