A Vision for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage in the EU

The report asserts that the EU cannot reach net zero by 2050 without large-scale deployment of CCUS, estimating a need to capture and store between 300 and 640 Mt of CO2 annually by 2050. It highlights a significant gap between current project announcements and the necessary infrastructure, particularly in CO2 transport and geological storage. The authors recommend that the European Commission establish clear targets, a regulatory framework for CO2 grids, and financial mechanisms like Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfD) to de-risk investments. The document specifically identifies 'hard-to-abate' sectors—such as cement, steel, and waste-to-energy—as critical areas where CCUS is either the lowest-cost or only viable decarbonisation pathway. It also emphasizes the necessity of technology-based carbon dioxide removals (CDR) via BECCS and DACS to balance residual emissions.

• Energy system modelling indicates that the EU will need to capture and utilise or store between 300 and 640 Mt of CO2 per year by 2050 to achieve its climate goals, with many estimates leaning toward the higher end of that range.
• The report concludes that CCUS is indispensable for reaching net zero, stating that without it, the EU will fail its Green Deal objective of climate neutrality by 2050.
• To meet climate objectives, the EU must capture and store at least 150 Mt/year of CO2 from biogenic or atmospheric sources by 2050 to provide permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
• CCUS is identified as a critical tool for 'hard-to-abate' industries; for cement and lime, unavoidable process emissions alone account for nearly 3% of total EU CO2 emissions.
• There is a projected shortfall in CO2 storage capacity by 2030, with a potential 50% gap between the volume of CO2 captured and the available storage sites.
• The report identifies a cumulative funding gap of approximately €10 billion by 2030 for currently announced CCUS projects to achieve a positive net present value.
• The authors propose specific storage capacity targets for the European Economic Area (EEA): a minimum of 80 Mt by 2030, at least 300 Mt/year by 2040, and at least 500 Mt/year by 2050.
• The report suggests that the EU should adopt Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfD) to bridge the financial gap between current carbon prices and the actual costs of first-of-a-kind CCUS deployment.
• Waste-to-energy (WtE) plants in Europe could potentially remove 35 Mt of CO2 from the atmosphere annually if equipped with CCS, utilizing the biogenic fraction of waste streams.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2023). A Vision for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage in the EU. https://www.catf.us/resource/a-vision-carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage-eu/

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. A Vision for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage in the EU. 2023. https://www.catf.us/resource/a-vision-carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage-eu/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=A Vision for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage in the EU |date=31 May 2023 |url=https://www.catf.us/resource/a-vision-carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage-eu/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2023vision, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{A Vision for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage in the EU}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://www.catf.us/resource/a-vision-carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage-eu/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }