The European Commission’s latest report on progress towards the EU’s CO₂ injection capacity target sends an important and welcome message: the Net-Zero Industry Act’s 50 million tonnes target for 2030 remains realistic and achievable.
It also confirms that Europe is right to treat CCS as part of its climate and industrial strategy. The report is also clear that CCS is indispensable for hard-to-abate sectors, and that storage capacity must be developed ahead of demand, not after it.
But recognition is not the same as delivery.
Demand is no longer hypothetical
One of the report’s strongest messages is that demand for CCS is already visible.
The Commission’s analysis of revised National Energy and Climate Plans shows that 35 million tonnes of CO₂ could be captured annually in the EU by 2030 for permanent storage, while projected injection capacity stands at 27.1 million tonnes per year. The Innovation Fund figures reinforce the point: 33 supported CO₂ capture projects will require 25.3 million tonnes per year of injection capacity, while more than 100 capture projects have applied for support since 2020, representing more than 80 million tonnes per year of potential captured CO₂ for permanent storage.
This is not hypothetical demand. It is real industrial demand.
For hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, lime, and steel, CCS is not a luxury. Renewables, electrification, efficiency and circularity all have a central role to play. But for industrial process emissions, they will not be enough on their own. CCS is one of the few practical routes to reduce CO₂ emissions while keeping industrial production in Europe.
With industrial demand growing, the challenge is now whether storage and transport infrastructure will be available in time.
"Europe has moved beyond the question of whether CCS is needed. The question now is whether we can build the policy, infrastructure and investment framework quickly enough to make it happen. If Europe wants to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries while keeping them here, CCS must move from strategy papers to steel in the ground." - Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, CCS Europe Director
The commitment gap remains too wide
This is where the report becomes more sobering.
All 44 obligated entities submitted plans, but only 16 confirmed their contribution in terms of assigned annual injection capacity by 2030. None confirmed their contribution in terms of total CO₂ storage capacity. Only 25 specified the means and milestones for delivery, and some referred to storage sites outside the EU, which cannot count towards NZIA compliance.
That is not yet a credible delivery framework.
Member States must step up
The report is also critical of Member State implementation. Transparency obligations under Article 21 of the NZIA remain only partially fulfilled, with too little publicly available geological data and too many gaps in national reporting. The Commission is clearly signalling that both Member States and obligated entities are not yet providing enough certainty.
Capture projects cannot move forward based on policy recognition alone. Investors need confidence that storage capacity will be there, and that it will be accessible through functioning transport infrastructure.
Cross-border infrastructure is essential
The report also confirms why cross-border CO₂ infrastructure is so important. Storage is still concentrated around the North Sea, while demand is emerging across Southern, Central and Eastern Europe. Storage capacity alone will not deliver industrial decarbonisation unless emitters across Europe can access it through a functioning cross-border CO₂ transport network.
Cross-border transport infrastructure is a question of industrial competitiveness.
From recognition to delivery
CCS Europe welcomes the Commission’s conclusion that the 50 Mt target remains achievable. But the report also makes clear that achievement is not guaranteed. Demand is there. The industrial need is there. What is still missing is stronger implementation, better monitoring, and firmer commitment from Member States and obligated entities alike.
Europe has moved beyond the question of whether CCS is needed. The question now is whether we can build the policy, infrastructure and investment framework quickly enough to make it happen.
If Europe wants to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries while keeping them here, CCS must move from strategy papers to steel in the ground.
The time for recognition has passed. The time for delivery is now.
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Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, Director, CCS Europe