CCS Europe

📣Ursula von der Leyen has secured her second term as President of the European Commission! A leading force behind the inception and adoption of the Green Deal, her first tenure saw CCS come to forefront of the debate on how to decarbonise Europe's industry, with landmark initiatives like the ICMS and NZIA sending a clear signal of support for these technologies. A good start, no doubt, but the second VdL Commission has a lot of work to make sure that these commitments are realized. To ensure CCS can play its role in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the Commission has to focus on: 🤝Facilitating cross-border collaboration, especially for CO2 transport infrastructure. 📄Developing efficient permitting procedures for CCS throughout the EU 🌍Engaging in discussions with like-minded third countries to expand CO2 storage capacity 🚦Ensuring that there is no divergence between between Member States policy 👮♀️Guaranteeing the full implementation of EU law regarding CCS in all Member States 👩🏫Bolstering public support for CCS technologies. Quite the job! This is precisely why CCS Europe is calling a CCS Envoy. A political leader within the Commission can give CCS the focus it requires and deserves if it is to reach its full potential. Read more about why we need a dedicated CCS Envoy and support our plea here: https://lnkd.in/dYvtzCaT

Some great news coming in from Greece! The European Commission has announced the approval of a 150 million euro state aid scheme in Greece to support the construction of a storage facility in Prinos. Taking the form of a direct grant, the aid will support the construction costs of onshore and offshore infrastructure for the realisation of the carbon storage facility. One of the first of its kind in the southeastern Mediterranean, it is very reassuring to see that the geographical spread of CCS projects is expanding! To achieve our net-zero goals, we need to make sure that every part of Europe will have access to the necessary infrastructure to #MakeCCSHappen. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eR7etjJs

We need to talk about CCS. While it may not be as "sexy" as renewables or electric vehicles, CCS is an indispensable climate mitigation technology. And here are a two key reasons why: 📈Rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are a direct cause of the increasingly visible effects of global warming. To confront this, we need to stop emissions of CO2 and curb its current concentration. The urgency of the climate crisis means that we need to make use of every account 🏭 While the bulk of emissions reductions will come from carbon-free technologies and behavioural change, these solutions have only a marginal impact on hard-to-abate industries. Especially when the CO2 emitted is due to the chemical nature of the production process, CCS is basically the only solution to curb emissions. Interested to learn more? Have a look at our blog "We need to talk about CCS" here: https://lnkd.in/dkMbVpYv The first of a four-part CCS Explainer series, stay tuned for more as we explore what CCS is, why it is needed and the challenges it faces.

CCS Europe and the Zero Emissions Platform have sent an open letter to President von der Leyen, co-signed by the leaders of 51 organisations, to highlight the urgent need to scale-up Industrial Carbon Management in Europe. Despite the fact that CCS and CCU technologies are regarded as essential for the decarbonisation and competitiveness of EU industry, their deployment in Europe is slow. This is why in the letter, leaders call on the Commission to develop and implement an EU action plan for CCS that would include include a regulatory framework for CO2 transport, initiatives to advance the development for low-carbon products, access to CO2 infrastructure, an EU CCS Alliance, and financial support mechanisms to encourage private sector investment. For the EU to meet its decarbonisation targets and turn climate ambitions to a competitive advantage, action on CCS can not wait anymore! The ball's in your court, EC. Let's make CCS happen. Read the the full letter here: https://lnkd.in/d2TzXVYt

📣 The European Commission has published the results from the latest round of funding under the Innovation Fund! Overall, the latest round awarded funding to 85 cleantech projects, amounting to nearly 5 billion euros. The projects selected would contribute significantly to strategic policy objectives including support for Energy-intensive industries and the roll-out of industrial carbon management. 11 CCS projects were selected, located in Italy, Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, According to the Commission, the projects selected in this call will capture CO2 and contribute 13% of the target of storing at least 50 million tonnes of CO2 per year (set in the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act) from various hard-to-abate sources in energy-intensive industries, such as cement and lime, (bio)-refineries, chemicals and waste-to-energy. This is for sure a good start and some reassurance that the EU does recognise the need to scale up ICM in Europe. Let's hope there's more to come soon! Find out more about projects funded under the innovation fund here: https://lnkd.in/daCYTHSS

Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published its headline "World Energy Outlook", looking at key trends in the global energy market for the next years. One of, if not the most authoritative report of its kind, here are a few of the key points on trends in CCS: 🤝 Despite positive trends, only 20% of announced capture capacity and 15% of announced storage capacity have reached an FID or are already in operation. 🏗️The list of announced projects falls short of what is needed to capture to reach net-zero by 2050. To achieve these targets, we need more projects aimed at reducing emissions from hard-to-abate industries. 🏭Especially for industry, there is a large gap between project announcements (estimated to reach 39 Mt globally) and the required rates of emissions capture. To reach global targets, we would need almost a tenfold increase by 2035. The insights of the report are a great reminder that, in addition to the existing financial and policy framework, we need more work to improve the business case for CCS and help industry reach FID's. Only then will CCS actually have the impact that is projected. Learn more about how we think this could look like here: https://lnkd.in/gJx6yZNe Read the full World Energy Outlook report for 2024 here: https://lnkd.in/dk3jxD-Q

🎉Join us in giving a warm welcome to our newest member: Honeywell! Honeywell is a technology company with a portfolio aligned to three critical megatrends – automation, the future of aviation and energy transition. The company, which has significant stakes in the EU innovation economy and a European workforce of approximately 20,000 employees in over 20 European countries, recognizes CCS as a critical part of the solution to achieving the targets of the EU’s Green Deal, and to decarbonize the EU and address the challenges of hard-to-abate industries. Delivering a range of industry leading solutions, Honeywell offers innovative CO2 capture technology, including physical and chemical solvents, adsorbents, membranes, and cryogenics, for efficient carbon capture across industrial applications. We're excited that they join our coalition, and we can't wait to see what this partnership has in store for us! Together, we can #MakeCCSHappen!

👇Our analysis of Spain's NECP According to the NECP, CCUS will be considered for sectors without alternatives, such as those with process emissions. In this context, the potential for BECCS will also be evaluated, though only as a last resort. Spain has attached importance to research into CCUS making it a priority in the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation, the Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation programme and the ALINNE initiative. The picture is, however, bleaker than it looks at first glance: CO2 Capture: Despite seeing a potential role for process emissions, the NECP lacks a target for carbon capture. CO2 Storage: There is no mention of a set target for storage, or plans to further support its development. CO2 Transport: The NECP makes no mention of CO2 transport and has no indication of plans to support the technology. Funding: The inclusion in of CCUS State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation makes it eligible for state aid, but Spain still lacks a CCS-specific funding instrument.

Late last week, the European Commission held its annual Industrial Carbon Management Forum in Pau, France. Heralded as a key event in the calendar for CCS, what does this year's ICM tell us about the future of CCS in Europe? On the positive side, Denmark and the Netherlands are making strides in their efforts to scale up CCS. Strategies are being formed by heavyweights like France and Germany, and countries like Italy, Greece and Sweden are also shifting their focus to CCS. However, Pau was, unfortunately, a stark reminder of all the work we have in front of us. Less positively, Pau was a reminder that CCS deployment has stalled in 2024 and that the Commission has not yet done enough to make Member States realise the importance of scaling up CCS, something that (outgoing) Commissioner Kadri Simson failed to address. We need to raise more momentum at the national level, and fora lik ethe ICM need to try harder to more actively involve policymakers. For the full picture, have a read at what our Director, Chris Davies, had to say about Pau: https://lnkd.in/d_xy2sFZ

📣Some good news coming in from Denmark! The Danish Energy Agency has launched its third fund for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), aiming to drastically reduce CO2 emissions over the next 15 years. The new CCS Fund will cover the costs of capturing, transporting, and storing CO2 - to secure funding, capture facilities must be operational by December 2029, with full-scale storage in place by 2030. This initiative is a testament to Denmark's ambitious climate agenda, with the Fund projected to reduce Denmark's annual carbon emissions by 2.3 million tonnes from 2030 – approximately 5% of the country’s current total. The goal is to secure maximum CO2 reductions at the lowest cost through a competitive tendering process. 🌱 Denmark is leading the way, but more of this ambition is needed across the EU. More financial support is a key point of our Action Plan, so we call on other Member States to take note of the Danish example and accelerate their CCS efforts to meet our collective climate targets. Find out more about our Action Plan for Carbon Capture here: https://lnkd.in/gJx6yZNe #MakeCCSHappen #NoNetZeroWithoutCCS