Unlocking Europe’s CO2 Storage Potential

The report assesses Europe's geological CO2 storage potential, estimating theoretical capacity between 262 and 1520 GtCO2. It compares 'Domestic' (widespread) and 'Export' (limited basins) storage scenarios against 'Prioritised' and 'Technical Potential' demand scenarios. While Europe has sufficient long-term theoretical capacity, current announced projects are insufficient for 2035 demand. The study highlights that widespread domestic storage significantly reduces transport CAPEX compared to export-heavy models, though some countries like Finland and Estonia lack suitable sedimentary basins.

• Theoretical CO2 storage capacity across Europe is estimated to be between 262 and 1520 GtCO2, with Bulgaria (3-450 GtCO2) and Norway (70-280 GtCO2) possessing the largest capacities.
• Several European countries are identified as lacking sufficient geological storage capacity to store their own emissions, including Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, and Luxembourg.
• Current announced storage project capacities are insufficient to meet potential 2035 demand; if 2035 Prioritised CCS demand and non-industrial demand (190 MtCO2/year) are compared to announced capacity (5100 MtCO2), it provides only 27 years of storage.
• The 'Technical Potential' scenario for 2050 estimates a maximum industrial carbon capture volume of 520 MtCO2/year across 1380 industrial sites.
• Non-industrial CCS demand, including blue hydrogen, power CCS, BECCS, and DAC, is highly uncertain but could add up to 724 MtCO2/year by 2050 in the Technical Potential scenario, which is 1.3 times higher than industrial demand.
• Widespread domestic storage development significantly reduces transport costs; the total CAPEX for the 2050 Prioritised CCS/Domestic scenario is between a half and a third of the cost of the 2050 Prioritised CCS/Export scenario.
• In the 2050 Prioritised CCS/Export scenario, storage in Northern Italy is at risk of reaching capacity, with a theoretical lifetime of only 23-100 years for the 64 MtCO2/year allocated to the Adriatic Sea.
• The report identifies that the cement and lime sector is likely to be an early mover in CCS deployment, even at smaller dispersed sites, due to a lack of alternative decarbonisation options.

APA

Baltac, S., Pusceddu, E., O’Sullivan, C., Galbraith-Olive, H., & Henderson, C. (2023). Unlocking Europe’s CO2 Storage Potential. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/resource/unlocking-europes-co2-storage-potential-analysis-optimal-co2-storage-europe/

Chicago

Baltac, Silvian, Elian Pusceddu, Conor O’Sullivan, Hannah Galbraith-Olive, and Cameron Henderson. Unlocking Europe’s CO2 Storage Potential. Clean Air Task Force, 2023. https://www.catf.us/resource/unlocking-europes-co2-storage-potential-analysis-optimal-co2-storage-europe/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baltac |first1=Silvian |last2=Pusceddu |first2=Elian |last3=O’Sullivan |first3=Conor |last4=Galbraith-Olive |first4=Hannah |last5=Henderson |first5=Cameron |title=Unlocking Europe’s CO2 Storage Potential |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=4 July 2023 |url=https://www.catf.us/resource/unlocking-europes-co2-storage-potential-analysis-optimal-co2-storage-europe/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baltac2023unlocking, author = {Baltac, Silvian and Pusceddu, Elian and O’Sullivan, Conor and Galbraith-Olive, Hannah and Henderson, Cameron}, title = {{Unlocking Europe’s CO2 Storage Potential}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://www.catf.us/resource/unlocking-europes-co2-storage-potential-analysis-optimal-co2-storage-europe/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }