CCS Europe Newsletter 

December edition - web version

6 December, 2024

‘Tis the season… The end of the year is nearly upon us, and 2025 is just around the corner. That means we will have just 25 more years to go until our net-zero future begins. 25 years to get our ducks in a row and start drawing down carbon at the scale required to keep global warming as far under the 2°C threshold as we can manage.

As 2024 draws to a close, we can look back on the hottest year on record, with the global average temperature already surpassing the 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels. Yet, greenhouse gas emissions continue to track upwards, with no clear signs of a peak in emissions, yet, according to the Global Carbon Budget Office. Could white Christmases soon be a thing of the past? ☃️

But enough festive cheer, let’s crack into what’s been happening in the world of CCS since our last bulletin.

🧾 This edition of the newsletter is approx. 1600 words long, or circa 5 minutes' reading time. Read on! 👇

HEADLINE NEWS

Habemus College. The European Parliament gave its final stamp of approval to the EU’s College of Commissioners. After completely uncontroversial hearings and a vote in the EP that was bereft of any national politics *awkward cough*, we now know what the political leadership of the EU will look like. Now the real work starts…

What we would like to see. Here at CCS HQ we are excited that there seem to be at least 4 members of the College who will work together in order to advance CCS: EVPs Teresa Ribera and Stephane Sejourne and Commissioners Hoekstra and Jorgensen. As they slide their feet under their desks, we thought now would be an opportune moment to give them our recommendations on how to get off on the right foot  on CCS in their first 100 days in office. More on this later in the newsletter.

Dude, where’s my NECP? That’s probably what DG ENER was thinking, with the Commission sending letters of formal notice to... Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, Austria, Poland, Portugal to pleeeeeease submit their updated NECPs. They’ve missed the deadline by a cool 157 days. These national energy and climate plans are a key stocktaking tool to make sure everyone is pulling their weight at Member State level to make CCS happen, so we couldn’t agree more with the Commission’s move. To reflect this, we’ve launched an interactive map of our assessment of where each Member State currently stands on CCS, based on their NECPs. Keep reading to find out more.   

OUR ACTIVITIES

 

CCS Europe goes to Strasbourg.  Our tenacious team took over Strasbourg during the latest European Parliament Plenary week to spread the gospel of CCS in the heart of the EU’s democracy. We kicked off with a breakfast discussion, sponsored by champion MEPs Bart Groothuis (Renew, NL), Jeannette Baljeu (Renew, NL) and Tom Berendsen (EPP, NL). With industry representatives from the whole CCUS value chain, NGOs and policymakers in the same room, we discussed the crucial role of CCS for the EU’s decarbonisation and competitiveness conundrum and what the EU needs to do to make CCS happen. We further explored the topic over a private dinner that evening, again with Bart Groothuis and Jeannette Baljieu, some of their colleagues from across the political groups and our members Honeywell, Clean Air Task Force, Bellona and the European Lime Association. For us back in the Brussels HQ, one thing was clear: momentum for CCS in the Parliament is growing. Now the real work starts.

Connecting with the Co-legislators. Breakfast and dinner were great, but what happened in between? Our indefatigable CCS advocate-in-chief, Chris Davies, had productive meetings with MEP Ondřej Krutílek (ECR, CZ), MEP Wouter Beke (EPP, BE) and MEP Thomas Geisel (NI, DE) from the parliamentary side of the  EU’s legislative machine. For balance, we also  held a meeting with the Dutch energy, climate, and industry attachés at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU for our members which resulted in a fruitful discussion on EU CCS policy. So, again. Momentum. It’s growing across the institutions.

The clock is ticking. New mandate, new Parliament… and now, finally, a new College of Commissioners 🥳And as the starting gun has sounded on the 2024-2029 Commission, we thought we would lend a hand to our friends in the Berlaymont by spelling out what we would like to see in the Commission’s first 100 days.  To get off on the right foot when it comes to CCS, we urge the Commission to focus on establishing strong political leadership on the technology, constructively engage with industry and to provide clear and focused legislative direction for CCS as part of the Clean Industrial Deal and the development of a CCS Action Plan. We’ve even built a live ticker to count down the 100 days. Check it out now, and learn more about our recommendations, too.

Ask not what CCS can do for your country, but what your country can do for CCS.  This is pretty much the aim of our brand new interactive tracker of National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).  Launched in an invite-only discussion with Perm Reps co-hosted with Bellona, our map collects key facts on what Member States have planned to scale up CCS in their NECPs, and then grades them on a scale from A-F. So far, only 14 Member States have submitted their NECPs despite the deadline being 30 June. Keep an eye out as we populate it with the remaining ones, when (if?) they are published.

Our coalition grows South. CCS has traditionally been more of a thing in the North of the Old Continent. Modern problems, however, require modern solutions and it is now making its way to the sunnier part of Europe. This is why we are particularly happy that in November, we welcomed a new member from the SEE region to our coalition: DESFA. DESFA is the operator of the Greek National Natural Gas System and plays a crucial in the country’s energy infrastructure, and is leading the charge in advancing the CCS value chain through the development of the APOLLOCO2 project (the first large-scale midstream CCS infrastructure in the Med). If you need a refresher, find out all you need to know about our members here.

CCS DEVELOPMENTS FROM AROUND THE BLOC

As good CCS advocates should, the team at CCS Europe HQ has been keeping our beady eye on the news for interesting developments across the bloc. Here are our top three picks for November:

#1: New technology makes carbon capture easier. SINTEF researchers have developed the Continuous Swing Adsorption Reactor (CSAR), a carbon capture technology using a heat pump and vacuum pump powered by electricity, eliminating the need for surplus heat. The system alternates between two reactors: one absorbs CO₂ at low temperatures, releasing heat, while the other uses this heat to release CO₂ at higher temperatures. Successfully tested at BIR AS's waste plant near Bergen, CSAR is being considered for a facility to capture 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2030. (Norwegian SciTech News)

#2: Horizon Europe call for BECCS and DACCS. The European Union has announced a €15 million funding call under the Horizon Europe program to support innovations in Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technologies. This initiative aims to advance the EU's goal of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The funding will support projects that enhance existing materials or develop new solutions for DACCS and BECCS, address barriers to their integration into current decarbonization strategies, and improve their cost-effectiveness and technological readiness. The deadline for proposal submissions is February 4, 2025. (Carbon Herald)

#3: Carbon Removal Certification Framework greenlit by Council. On November 19, 2024, the Council of the European Union adopted the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF), the first EU-level certification system for verifying carbon removals. The framework would also include permanent carbon removals, and specifically Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), which securely store CO₂ underground or in stable geological formations. These methods are critical to achieving net-zero emissions, as they permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere, complementing emission reduction strategies. (Council of the EU)

LOOKING AHEAD: DECEMBER & JANUARY 👀

 

Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner, but that won’t slow us down…too much. Here’s a snapshot of what’s upcoming either side of the holiday period:

On 17 December, we will be hosting another webinar on how CCS presents an excellent business opportunity for the EU, making it a key solution to our effort to remain internationally competitive while also ambitiously decarbonising.  Sign up now!

Meanwhile, in January we are planning a potential site visit of one of the EU’s first CCS plants – stay tuned for more on that.  Our advocate-in-chief Chris will also be travelling to Copenhagen in January to guest star at an event, and the busy bees at CCCS HQ will be seeking out more meetings with the EU institutions to continue to call for action in the new Commission’s first 100 days.

That wraps up this month’s dose of CCS updates. Our next newsletter will find you at the end of January. Until then, happy holidays!