Achieving Systemic Bankability of Carbon Capture and Storage in Poland

The report finds that while Poland has significant geological storage potential (estimated at 15 Gt) and industrial demand in hard-to-abate sectors like cement, the CCS sector remains pre-commercial due to regulatory uncertainty and a lack of revenue support. It identifies regulatory certainty and revenue adequacy as the most critical barriers to final investment decisions (FID). To address these, the report proposes a three-phase roadmap: establishing regulatory and financing foundations by 2027, initiating pre-commercial value chains by 2030, and expanding infrastructure for market scale-up thereafter. Key recommendations include adopting a national CCS strategy, implementing Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs), and creating a digital 'one-stop shop' for permitting to align with Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) requirements.

• Poland possesses substantial geological CO2 storage potential, estimated conservatively at more than 15 Gigatons (Gt), which could store approximately 369 years of current industrial point-source emissions.
• The cement sector is identified as the area of greatest need for CCS in Poland, as roughly two thirds of its emissions result from the calcination of calcium carbonate, making them unavoidable through electrification alone.
• CCS in Poland is currently pre-commercial, with the most significant systemic bankability barriers being regulatory uncertainty and the absence of dedicated revenue support schemes.
• Regulatory gaps include the lack of a comprehensive national CCS strategy, fragmented laws for CO2 transport, and a lack of legal basis for non-pipeline transport.
• The report argues that the introduction of a revenue-stabilising instrument, specifically Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs), is a necessary precondition for CCS project deployment to bridge the gap between costs and market revenues.
• There is a significant legal conflict regarding offshore storage in the Baltic Sea due to interpretations of Article 11 of the Helsinki Convention, which may prohibit CO2 'dumping'.
• Public acceptance of CCS is low and varies by region; support for underground storage was found to be as low as 18% in some northern provinces and up to 40% in southern industrial regions.
• Administrative capacity is currently insufficient, with a lack of a dedicated digital 'one-stop shop' for CCS permitting, which may hinder Poland's ability to meet NZIA permit-granting time limits, such as the 18-month limit for strategic storage sites.
• Three early-stage projects are highlighted: ECO2CEE (a CO2 hub at the Port of Gdańsk), GO4ECOPLANET (capture at the Kujawy cement plant), and HuCCSar (an onshore transport and storage pilot).

APA

Kupiec, B. (2026). Achieving Systemic Bankability of Carbon Capture and Storage in Poland. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/03083522/Systemic-Bankability-CCS-Poland.pdf

Chicago

Kupiec, Bartłomiej. Achieving Systemic Bankability of Carbon Capture and Storage in Poland. Clean Air Task Force, 2026. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/03083522/Systemic-Bankability-CCS-Poland.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kupiec |first1=Bartłomiej |title=Achieving Systemic Bankability of Carbon Capture and Storage in Poland |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=August 2026 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/03083522/Systemic-Bankability-CCS-Poland.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kupiec2026achieving, author = {Kupiec, Bartłomiej}, title = {{Achieving Systemic Bankability of Carbon Capture and Storage in Poland}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2026}, month = aug, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/03083522/Systemic-Bankability-CCS-Poland.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }