CCS Europe November Newsletter 2026

CCS Europe November Newsletter

November edition - web version

10 November, 2026

October was, unsurprisingly, a busy month. The ETS review started to move properly in the European Parliament, with more than 3,000 amendments tabled in the ENVI Committee to MEP Peter Liese’s draft report. While those amendments cover just about everything under the ETS sun, the ones that matter most to us are those addressing the double-penalty risk facing early CCS movers. If you follow our work closely, you might have noticed that we are particularly vocal on this topic, which is why it encouraging to see it being taken seriously by policymakers. 

Brussels also put more money on the table. The Commission announced €3.4 billion for net-zero projects under the Innovation Fund, including a large share for industrial carbon management (ICM), which was followed up with nearly €120 million for ICM under Horizon Europe. Taken together, the two announcements are another reminder that ICM is moving further into the EU’s mainstream decarbonisation agenda.

However, the good was also followed with the bad, as we learned that the CO2 transport infrastructure and market package, as well as the wider post-2030 climate package, has once again been delayed, this time to Q1 2027. We've lost track of how many times this legislative proposal was pushed back by the Commission, but what we do know is that this file will be key to giving European industry, especially hard-to-abate sectors, the clarity and predictability needed on CO2 transport and storage rules, cross-border access and the wider market framework.

Lastly, and to end it on a good note, we were once again on the road, meeting policymakers to discuss the ETS review and the CO2 transport and market infrastructure package.

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

HEADLINE NEWS🚨

💶 Commission allocates €3.4bn for net-zero projects under the Innovation Fund. On 19 October, the European Commission announced €3.4 billion in support for net-zero technology projects under the Innovation Fund, marking another major round of EU funding for industrial decarbonisation. Of the 77 projects selected, 19 are ICM projects, including seven CCS projects. With almost a quarter of all selected projects falling under ICM, the result confirms that ICM remains part of the EU’s core net-zero project pipeline at a time when many projects across the value chain are still working to reach FID.

While the overall package spans a broad range of net-zero technologies, the relevance for CCS is clear; EU funding continues to play an important role in supporting first-mover projects across capture, transport and storage. As Europe looks to move from ambition to implementation, backing of this kind will remain important for getting projects online throughout Europe.

🤑 Even more money for ICM. Under the Horizon Europe 2026–2027 Work Programmes, the Commission has earmarked nearly €120 million for ICM, covering CCUS, CO2 storage, DAC and support for the implementation of the future CO2 transport and storage framework. Compared with the previous Horizon Europe Work Programme, which allocated only €47 million to ICM, this marks a significant increase in funding available.

For CCS itself, the most relevant parts of the package include €30 million to de-risk local and regional industrial CCS and CCU hubs, €25 million for pre-commercial appraisal of CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers, and €5 million to support policy implementation and technical standards for the EU’s upcoming  CO2 transport and storage framework. The package also includes €16 million for DAC pilot projects and €43.8 million for CO2 capture, purification and utilisation pathways, with application deadlines running from March to December 2027.

🧾 ENVI ETS amendments address the double-penalty. Multiple amendments tabled in the European Parliament’s ENVI committee on the ETS review would, in different ways, address the double-penalty risk facing early CCS movers. As a reminder, the double-penalty or double-burden, is the situation where an emitter may be forced to vent captured CO2 because of transport or storage disruptions outside its control, while still having to surrender ETS allowances for those emissions and continue carrying the costs of its CCS investment.

The amendments were submitted by MEPs from the Belgian and Italian EPP delegations, as well as Renew's MEP Baljeu. The Belgian EPP amendments propose a broad guarantee across the CO2 value chain, with the detailed terms to be defined later. The Italian EPP amendment proposes a more tightly defined backstop for exceptional disruptions, but only once capture, transport and storage infrastructure is operational. Lastly, MEP Baljeu’s amendment goes further by also covering delays in bringing transport or storage infrastructure into operation where a capture installation is ready. It would establish a €500 million reserve and includes more detailed eligibility conditions. These amendments show that the double-penalty issue is now being seriously considered by MEPs, and we hope they find its way in the final compromise text. 

DIRECTOR'S VIEW👁️

In this month’s “Director’s View”, our Director, Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, reflects on a series of discussions he had with various policymakers from the Commission, Parliament and Member State Permanent Representations. 

“The discussions I had with people from the Commission, Parliament and Perm Reps left me with a feeling that CCS is now truly at the centre of the EU's decarbonisation policy.

Across those exchanges, we discussed issues such as the ETS review, the double-penalty risk, and the upcoming CO2 transport and markets regulation. What encouraged me most was that these are no longer being treated as niche or abstract questions, but increasingly as practical policy issues that need to be resolved.

For me, the positive sign is that policymakers are increasingly engaging with these implementation questions directly.  Europe will only build a functioning CCS market if the policy debate keeps moving closer to the realities faced by projects on the ground.

In short: the direction of travel is encouraging. The challenge now is to turn that political attention into clear and workable frameworks that support delivery across the value chain.”

  -- Bergur Løkke Rasmussen
Director, CCS Europe

OUR ACTIVITIES🏋️

🧪 Bergur talked about CCUS application in Europe’s chemicals industry. Bergur joined a learning session organised by Climate Catalyst on the role of CCUS in the transformation of Europe’s chemicals sector. His presentation focused on the practical realities of deployment for chemical producers, including process emissions, investment conditions, infrastructure access and the double-penalty risk. The session itself looked at how CCS fits alongside wider decarbonisation strategies in the chemicals industry and what kind of policy support could help projects move forward.

🤝 We were back in Brussels meeting policymakers. Throughout October, we met with DG CLIMA, DG COMP, ENVI Chair Pierfrancesco Maran, as well as the Greek and Danish Permanent Representations. The exchanges focused on the ongoing ETS review, with special attention given to the double-penalty and possible de-risking tools, and the upcoming CO2 transport and market infrastructure package. These meetings were a useful opportunity to continue making the case that CCS deployment will depend on both workable market rules and practical risk-sharing across the value chain.

🎥 Our interview with MEP Baljeu is now rolling out. In case you missed it, we started publishing our interview with MEP Jeannette Baljeu, in which she shares her views on various things related to the broader CCS landscape. The conversation covers the role of CCS in Europe’s climate and industrial agenda, the barriers still holding projects back, and the policy steps needed to accelerate deployment across the full value chain. More clips and highlights are still to come, so keep an eye on our socials. Check out the interview series here.

CCS DEVELOPMENTS FROM AROUND THE BLOC💡
🇬🇧 BOC commissions carbon capture facility in Teesside. BOC has commissioned a carbon capture facility in Teesside, in a move aimed at strengthening CO2 supply in the UK. The development adds another operational carbon capture project to the wider European landscape and highlights continued activity around industrial gas and carbon management infrastructure. Full story here.
🇩🇪 Heidelberg Materials pauses GeZero carbon capture project in Germany.  Heidelberg Materials has paused its €191 million GeZero carbon capture project in Germany. The decision affects one of the country’s planned industrial CCS projects and is a reminder that not all projects currently in the pipeline are moving forward at the same speed. Learn more here.
🤝 Northern Lights signs CCS agreement with Öresundskraft. Northern Lights has signed a CCS agreement with Öresundskraft covering 200,000 tonnes of CO2. The deal marks another commercial agreement linked to cross-border CO2 transport and storage in Europe, this time connecting a Swedish energy company with Norwegian storage infrastructure. Read more here.
 

LOOKING AHEAD: NOVEMBER👀

🏃‍➡️ We do not plan to slow down. If you thought October was busy, do not expect November to be any quieter. Over the coming weeks, we will be back in Brussels meeting Commission officials, MEPs and Member State representatives to keep the conversation moving on the ETS review, and the CO2 transport infrastructure package. As always, stay tuned to our socials to see who we are meeting and what comes out of the discussions.

🏗️ Industry CCUS 2026 is coming up. Later this month, Industry CCUS 2026 will bring together people from across the CCS world to talk about what is actually happening on the ground. With so much attention now on getting projects online and reaching FID, this will be a useful change to take stock of current developments and barriers standing in the way of further CCS deployment. Check out the agenda here.