CCS Europe July Newsletter

July edition - web version

9 July, 2026

Summer is almost here, and it seems Brussels is already starting to slow down a little. But while some may be preparing for a break, CCS certainly has not taken one.

June brought several important developments for the CCS sector, with the European Commission’s Implementation Dialogue putting the focus on the practical steps needed to scale deployment across Europe. We also saw MEP Jeannette Baljeu raise questions on unlocking CCUS investment decisions, while the upcoming ETS review continued to generate debate among Member States and industry.

We ourselves also kept busy, first by welcoming our newest member and first national association, Carbon Management Allianz (CMA). Our Director, Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, represented CCS Europe at the CCS Implementation Dialogue and interview a (for now) mystery MEP on all things CCS.

As usual, this month's edition is approximately 1,000 words long, or around a seven-minute read. Read on! 👇

HEADLINE NEWS

🗣️ Hoekstra organises Implementation Dialogue on CCS. Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra hosted an Implementation Dialogue with stakeholders on the practical conditions needed to deploy CCS at scale across Europe. The discussion focused on investment barriers, infrastructure development, permitting, cross-border coordination and the role of EU support instruments.

Participants highlighted the need for a coordinated approach across the CCS value chain, including capture, transport and storage, supported by stable regulatory conditions, improved infrastructure access and streamlined permitting. EU funding tools, including the Innovation Fund, were also discussed as important drivers for accelerating deployment. Oh, and we were there too. Read on to see what CCS Europe brought to the discussion.

💰 MEP Baljeu questions Commission on unlocking CCUS investment decisions. MEP Jeannette Baljeu submitted a parliamentary question to the Commission on how to unlock Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) across the CCUS value chain. The question focuses on how upcoming EU initiatives, including the CO₂ Markets and Infrastructure proposal and the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, can support investment decisions and accelerate CCUS deployment.

The parliamentary question also interrogates how the Commission intends to manage ETS compliance risks in cases where capture projects face disruptions beyond operators’ control, and how EU financial and regulatory instruments can help de-risk early CCUS investments.

🥵 ETS under pressure. Ahead of the mid-July revision of the ETS, the debate around the EU’s carbon market is increasingly intensifying, with Member States and industry calling for adjustments to address competitiveness concerns and carbon leakage risks. While there is broad support for maintaining the ETS framework, several Member States have raised concerns about how current design elements, particularly industrial benchmarks, reflect the realities faced by energy-intensive sectors.

France, Germany, Czechia, Italy and Poland have all called for changes to ensure the ETS better supports European industry during the transition. The Commission has defended its approach, arguing that the current methodology follows the existing legal framework, but the growing political pressure highlights the challenge of balancing climate ambition with industrial competitiveness ahead of the ETS review.

DIRECTOR'S VIEW

In this month’s “Director’s View”, our Director, Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, reflects on the Implementation Dialogue on CCS, organised by Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, in which he participated on 29 June:

"The Implementation Dialogue confirmed to me that CCS is now firmly recognised as essential for meeting Europe’s climate targets, boosting industrial competitiveness and safeguarding jobs. I stressed that projects are moving forward, but too many are still held back by weak business cases, high cross-chain risks and uncertainty around future access to transport and storage infrastructure.

At the same time, the exchange highlighted a clear delivery gap. Storage bottlenecks, slow permitting, fragmented cross-border rules and the “double penalty” facing first movers continue to create barriers. Several stakeholders also underlined that Europe cannot simply wait for demand to emerge: public funding, demand-side measures and a strong ETS will all be needed to make CCS investable at scale.

A real single market for CO₂ transport and storage is therefore key. This means transparent rules, harmonised contracts, faster permitting and equal access to storage, while recognising that both pipelines and shipping will be needed to connect industrial emitters across Europe.

In short: CCS is no longer a question of technology, but of implementation. Europe now needs the regulation, infrastructure and investment framework to turn ambition into projects."

  -- Bergur Løkke Rasmussen
Director, CCS Europe

OUR ACTIVITIES

🙌 We have a new member - CMA! The CCS Europe family continues to grow this month as well, as we welcome Carbon Management Allianz (CMA), as the newest member of CCS Europe and our very first national association member!  CMA plays a key role in advancing industrial carbon management in Germany by bringing together industry stakeholders and contributing to the policy discussion on CCUS.

👀 MEP interview teaser. This month, Bergur sat down with an MEP to discuss all things CCS: its role in Europe’s climate and industrial strategy, the barriers slowing deployment, and what is needed to unlock FIDs across the value chain. They also discussed the upcoming CO₂ transport and storage framework, the message to hesitant investors, and what Europe can learn from the Dutch CCS experience. Keep an eye on our socials, the reveal is coming soon.

🗣️CCS Implementation Dialogue. As you might have noticed, we participated in the Implementation Dialogue on CCS. Bergur represented CCS Europe in the discussion, highlighting that CCS is essential for Europe’s climate goals and industrial competitiveness, but that projects are still being slowed down by weak business cases, cross-chain risks and infrastructure gaps. He also called for full delivery of the NZIA storage targets, a real CO₂ transport and storage single market, and action to address ETS double-penalty risks. The message was clear: CCS is ready, now Europe needs to make implementation happen.

CCS DEVELOPMENTS FROM AROUND THE BLOC

🇮🇹 Study shows Sicily has strong potential for CO₂ storage. A new CNR-IGG study, conducted with Carbfix and the University of Pisa, finds that southeastern Sicily has great CO₂ storage potential. The study identifies Palagonia, Portopalo di Capo Passero and the Plain of Catania as promising areas thanks to suitable basaltic rocks, favourable geology, water availability and proximity to major industrial emitters. Read the full study here.

🤝 Companies advance cross-border CO₂ transport in the Delta Rhine Corridor. Multiple companies from across the CCS value chain - EBN, Eni Netherlands CCUS, Gasunie, Open Grid Europe, Shell and TotalEnergies EP Nederland -  have agreed to work together on a CO₂ pipeline system connecting industrial regions in North Rhine-Westphalia to storage sites in the Dutch North Sea, including through the Aramis project. The planned network would help move CO₂ from emitters in western Germany and the Netherlands to offshore depleted gas fields. Read more here.

📃 Linde and Valmet team up on electrified CCS for pulp and paper. The two companies will work on a CCS solution for pulp and paper mills that uses renewable electricity instead of steam or heat-based energy inputs. By combining Linde’s capture technology with Valmet’s sector expertise, the partnership aims to address emissions in an industry where full decarbonisation remains challenging.  Learn more here.
 

LOOKING AHEAD: JULY👀

👀All eyes on 17 July. That is when the Commission is expected to present its ETS review, though after several delays, we will believe it only when we see it. For CCS Europe, the key issue is the “double-penalty” risk: early CCS movers may still face ETS costs if transport or storage disruptions force CO₂ venting, while also carrying CCS investment costs. A targeted EU guarantee mechanism could help unlock FIDs and we hope the Commission will address this issue in its upcoming proposal.

🏃‍➡️ We are still very much active. This month, we will be in the European Parliament discussing the CCS landscape, including the upcoming CO₂ infrastructure and markets regulation and the double-penalty issue. As for who we are meeting? Well, you will have to wait a little longer; follow our socials to find out.

That's a wrap for June - and we will be taking a brief pause for the summer months. Do not fret, we will still be active on our socials, and the newsletter will return in September.

Wishing you all a lovely summer break!