The time to build a European CCUS market is now [Promoted content]

The mandate of the next European Commission is a make-or-break period for the large-scale deployment of carbon capture projects in Europe. Without these technologies, the EU can forget about achieving its climate targets for 2040 and 2050. 

Joop Hazenberg is EU Director of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association.

Policymakers in Brussels get this. The recent publication of the Commission’s Industrial Carbon Management Strategy (ICMS) and the adoption of the Net Zero Industry Act shows how much CCUS has come to the centre of climate and energy policymaking, which used to be the domain of more attractive renewable energy solutions. But you can only do so much with solar, wind and green hydrogen. The ‘hardest nuts to crack’ of the clean energy transition – energy-intensive industries, process emissions, and fuels for heavy transport will at the moment only be solved by applying carbon capture and carbon (re)use technologies. CCUS offers Europe the opportunity to decarbonise without deindustrialising.  

With over 75 market-ready projects in Europe, the appetite for CCUS seems to be growing fast. However, a clear business case is still lacking (apart from the urgent need to clean up industries), largely because of a lack of scale of the CCUS market, high risks to invest in these projects and an incomplete and fragmented regulatory framework. So, the EU needs to step up its game and the ICMS holds many valuable elements, proposals, targets and ideas to create the right framework and conditions for a flourishing CCUS market.  shows 

The time to build the CCUS market is now. European industries and emitters urgently require a strategic solution to safeguard their future viability. CCUS technologies form a linchpin to substantially reduce carbon footprints across challenging industrial processes. 

The next Commission has only one chance to get it right, and with ‘it’ I mean building a robust EU policy framework for gigatonne-scale capture, transport and storage as well as use of CO2. During the mandate of this Commission which will stretch until the end of the decade, we urgently need to bolster CCUS investments.  

Support European industries  

Supporting European industries in this endeavour is paramount. The burgeoning CCUS industry will not only spur the creation of hundreds of thousands of net-zero jobs but also be key to sustaining tens of millions of existing manufacturing jobs, effectively reversing the trend of industrial decline in Europe. Governmental support schemes are pivotal in catalysing short-term market development, which should then be phased out in the 2030s as the CCUS market matures and can stand on its own feet 

Key hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, chemicals, and hydrogen production, which struggle to balance production imperatives with the transition to net-zero operations, stand to benefit immensely from CCUS technologies. Where electrification falls short, CCUS emerges as a viable pathway while also offering efficient decarbonisation solutions for unavoidable emissions. 

Moreover, the role of CCUS technologies in facilitating the proliferation of low-carbon products cannot be overlooked. The growth of this market segment promises to slash emissions across industrial sectors while offering consumers sustainable alternatives. 

Enabling a route to market for CCUS technologies  

To date, less than a handful of CCS projects have reached the stage of a Financial Investment Decision (FID) in Europe – and only thanks to the strong involvement of governments in terms of guarantees and direct financial support. Project developers will depend on national and European public actors to derisk this young market for quite some time. Policymakers in capitals and Brussels need to ensure that sufficient and coherent EU-level funding in the short term is indispensable, with Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) emerging as a key tool for transitioning from subsidies to market-driven investments after 2030.  

Complementary carbon removal technologies, such as Bio Energy CCS and Direct Air Capture also warrant support, with specific objectives tied to the proposed 2040 climate targets. These technologies are important in fortifying Europe’s transition to a net-zero future, and we should do everything we can to harness their future business models.  

The Commission should prioritise CO2 transport legislation. They have to ensure the development of open, non-discriminatory transport networks that do not hinder any deployment plans in the near future. On the other hand, sustained support and incentivisation for capture projects are essential. Legislative measures should incorporate incentives for creating adequate storage capacity ahead of the capture project finalisation, also recognising storage potential within the EEA and third-party countries, such as the UK.  

Industrial scale capturing of carbon may look like a pipe dream, but it is far from that and essential for achieving Europe’s ambitious climate goals. It is now up to the EU institutions and notably to the next Commission to create a real business case for the next phase of the European Green Deal, as outlined in the excellent Antwerp Declaration of March 2024 that has been signed by more than 1,000 companies and (trade) associations such as the CCSA. CCUS technologies will save our climate – and also our industries – but the next Commission will need to take the right measures to achieve this double and closely interlinked goal.