Europe faces a stark challenge. How do we slash emissions quickly while preserving the strength of our core industries? Carbon capture and storage offers a clear, practical answer. For hard-to-abate sectors like cement, lime, steel, chemicals, and existing hydrogen production, some emissions cannot be eliminated through electrification or efficiency alone. CCS captures these emissions and locks them away permanently. If Europe is serious about its climate goals and sustaining industry at home, CCS must move from promise to widespread deployment. We call on the European Commission to prioritise sixactions to foster the market for carbon capture.
Establish a CO₂ transport and storage Single Market
The starting point is a true European CO₂ Single Market. We must create harmonised rules for permitting, liability and access so CO₂ can move freely across borders to the best available storage sites. All transport modes - pipeline, ship, rail and road - must be recognised and enabled. A single market approach reduces costs, increases competition for storage, and prevents regional bottlenecks, while connecting regions with limited storage capacity to sites elsewhere in Europe. It also protects first movers while common technical standards and commercial arrangements are developed. Public and private finance must combine to share risk and accelerate deployment. Instruments such as offtake guarantees, availability payments, regulated tariffs and regulatory asset base models can provide the revenue certainty projects need. A dedicated first-loss guarantee mechanism for CCS value chains would further unlock private investment.
"In a decarbonising world, CCS is not optional. Other regions in the world have already recognised it. By taking the actions elicited above, the EU can lead the charge to net-zero once more and safeguard the future of its industry. Let’s make CCS happen." - Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, CCS Europe Director
Meeting the Net-Zero Industry Act storage target by 2030
The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) sets a decisive target: 50 million tonnes per year of CO₂ injection capacity by 2030. This target must be met without delay. That requires clear and predictable permitting, open access to storage sites, and firm enforcement at national level. The European Commission must proactively monitor the timely implementation of the NZIA – and where necessary, dish out penalties for failure to comply.
De-risking and mitigating ‘double-penalty risks’
To get CCS truly off the ground and to the scale we need, it is critical that policymakers protect ‘first of a kind’ capture projects from ‘double-penalty’ risks. These double-penalty risks refer to the sunk investments in carbon reduction technologies and Emissions Trading System (ETS) compliance costs for emissions that cannot be abated due to incomplete value chain infrastructure, despite having invested in carbon capture technologies. That’s why we need funding to cover unexpected ETS exposure for CCS infrastructure providers as part of a package to de-risk investments in the industry.
Directing EU funding to maximise emissions reductions
CCS must be a core focus of the Innovation Fund, Connecting Europe Facility and the upcoming Industrial Decarbonisation Bank. Support should prioritise projects with the highest carbon abatement per euro, while also nurturing R&D and demonstration activity. A coordinated approach at EU and national levels will ensure a smooth transition from grant funding to bankable, investable projects.
Creating demand through mandatory standards
Decarbonising supply alone is not enough; demand for low-carbon products must be stimulated. Mandatory procurement rules and clear labelling for low-carbon cement, steel, chemicals and molecules will create a leading European market that rewards early decarbonisers and sets benchmarks for private buyers.
Appointing a dedicated EU CCS Envoy
Delivering this agenda requires policy coordination across European Commission departments and Member States. A CCS Envoy with a clear mandate would oversee policy, funding, and infrastructure coordination, monitor progress against the Net-Zero Industry Act target, and swiftly remove barriers to widespread deployment.
The bottom line
Our members are investing in capture technologies, transport infrastructure, storage hubs and new commercial models. But solid economics depend on treating CCS as strategic European infrastructure. This means delivering the NZIA storage target, linking clusters to storage, de-risking early projects, focusing EU funding on highest impact activities, creating demand, and appointing a senior lead to drive progress.
In a decarbonising world, CCS is not optional. Other regions in the world have already recognised it. By taking the actions elicited above, the EU can lead the charge to net-zero once more and safeguard the future of its industry. Let’s make CCS happen.
--By Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, CCS Europe Director