CCS Europe, the voice of the European carbon capture and storage sector, has elected new leadership of its Governing Board for the next 12 months.

Rodolphe Nicolle, Secretary General at the European Lime Association (EuLA), was elected as new Chair on 31 May. He succeeds Philippe Niessen, Director for Industry and the Innovation Programme at the European Climate Foundation (ECF).

David Berman, Head of EU Public Affairs at Air Liquide, was elected industry Vice-Chair, a position previously held by Rodolphe Nicolle.

Lina Strandvåg Nagell, Senior Manager Projects & EU Policy at Bellona, will continue as NGO Vice-Chair. As she is currently on maternity leave, Senior Policy Manager Michal Wendolowski will be representing Bellona on her behalf.

CCS Europe also added new members to its Governing Board. These are: David Berman, Head of EU Public Affairs (AirLiquide); Erik Kolstø, Head of Hydrogen & CCUS Business Development (OGE) and Kristin Karlstad, Head of Communication & Public Affairs (Hydro).

The current members of CCS Europe are EuLA, Air Liquide, OGE, ECF, Hydro, Bellona, CATF, GE Vernova, Baker Hughes, CEWEP and SNAM.

Rodolphe Nicolle of EuLA said: “According to the European Commission and the IPCC, CCS is crucial for achieving our climate targets, especially for hard-to-abate sectors like the lime industry. There is significant momentum for this issue, and CCS Europe's goal is to make it a reality on the ground. I am proud, on behalf of EuLA and its members, to have contributed actively to this collective effort since the campaign's inception.”

David Berman from Air Liquide said: "CCS is a fundamental technology for the swift decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors and existing hydrogen production. Therefore, I am happy to further support CCS Europe's mission as 'vice-chair industry' by raising awareness on the obstacles that must be overcome in order to deploy the various CCUS projects to contribute to the climate targets."

Philipp Niessen of ECF said: “The application of CCS to industrial installations is an essential element to reach a climate-neutral European industry by mid-century. Unfortunately, progress in the last decade has been much too slow. CCS Europe — as a uniquely positioned joint-coalition between industry, technology providers and civil society groups — is a trustworthy, high integrity and effective voice to help build policy and societal support for CCS.”

Michal Wendolowski from Bellona said: "Bellona Europa contributes to the debate on the role that CCS has to play in mitigating carbon emissions, ensuring it results in real climate benefits. We advocate for holding the right entities accountable to develop CO2 transport and storage infrastructure that benefits society at large, not just sectors like oil and gas."