While most coal mines in Germany are no longer operable, they continue to emit mine-related methane. An estimated 40M tonnes of methane are globally released from new and closed coal mines per year. As the global warming potential of methane is around 25 times stronger than CO₂, it is very harmful to our environment and responsible for about 30% of global warming.

To prevent methane emissions, this project uses a system of pumps and funnels to collect, purify, and compress the gas. Subsequently, the methane is transmitted to gas engines that co-generate heat for consumers in the vicinity via district-heating pipelines and electricity for the national grid. By combusting the methane, it is converted mainly into CO₂ which is a much less potent greenhouse gas. Moreover, feeding the electricity into the grid prevents further emissions by displacing energy generated from fossil sources.