EU Commission plans to boost CCUS

The European Commission has released its anticipated Industrial Carbon Management strategy (ICM).

The EU Commission states its objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 from 1990 levels.  

The 10% residual emissions are hard to capture (for example due to influx variability, composition heterogeneity) and an equivalent amount would need to be removed and stored. The impact assessment indicates that the (most ambitious) 90% scenario assumes: “a fully developed carbon management industry by 2040, with carbon capture covering all industrial process emissions and delivering sizable carbon removals, as well as higher production and consumption of e-fuels”

In the ICM report, the EU commission confirms that CCUS is key to decarbonising industry and calls for:

• "a common and comprehensive policy and investment framework for all aspects of industrial carbon management"

• "a single market for CO2 in Europe"

CCUS is 1 out of 7 strategic blocks of the EU Vision for an European Union 2050 Long-term Strategy.

The EU Commission now comments on 3 categories:

1. CCS: capturing emitted  CO2 for permanent storage, “engagement between permit applicants and competent authorities during the preparatory phase of strategic net-zero CO2 storage projects and highlights the need for further economic incentives to identify and build more storage capacity”. “The Commission will kickstart work to create an EU-wide investment atlas of potential CO2 storage sites”.

2. BECCS/DAC: biogenic/atmospheric CO2 can offset emissions, the EU Commission acknowledges that direct air capture technologies are comparably expensive  “for direct air carbon capture and storage, the estimated future costs range from EUR 122 to EUR 539 per tonne of CO2 is , well above the current ETS price” and “additional support will be required to accelerate technological learning”.

3. CCU: capturing CO2 for use as a substitute for fossil-based feedstock (e.g. e-fuels for aviation) “additional measures are needed to recognise the potential climate benefits of using sustainable carbon from captured CO2 rather than fossil carbon”.

Key numbers:

• >50Mtpa CO2 EU storage capacity by 2030 to comply with the EU Net Zero Industry Act NZIA, art.14; 243Mtpa by 2040 ;   > 450Mtpa by 2050 (note: it seems high but it is feasiblethe world currently captures 45 Mtpa, Sweden emit 50Mtpa; France emits 400Mtpa)

• 80Mtpa CO2 carbon capture industry ambition by 2030; 280Mtpa CO2 carbon capture communicated as the EU’s 2040 climate target ; 344Mtpa is indicated in the impact assessment for the 90%/ 2040 scenario

• 2/3 of EU member states allow CO2 storage on their territories

• 3.3B€ have been already awarded to 26 CCUS projects (mostly Capture) through the ETS innovation fund

• 10B€ is the investment cost to kick-off the CCS value chain in Europe by 2030: 3B€ to build a 50Mtpa storage capacity by 2030, transport and infrastructure adds another 6.2 to 9.3B€

• Between 75 000 and 170 000 jobs are expected to support the future EU CO2 value chain (note: ca. 6 400 people are currently employed in the CCUS chain worldwide, with the majority in the US (4 000 jobs), followed by Australia (400) and Norway (350))