Why industrial carbon management is Europe’s next competitive edge – SINTEF Blog

These pictures from Budapest, Trondheim, Reinsvjik (the Netherlands) and Larvik (Norway) illustrate hectic activity over the last months. It has been many hotel rooms, meeting a lot of interesting people – discussing and aligning. For me – in short – this mission is making a lot of sense, and purpose.   

At the essence, it is about how research can best support the industry in Europe to become more competitive and resilient going forward. A core aspect of this is doing the right thing (managing) with the CO₂ emitted from Europe’s industries. Also named ‘industrial carbon management (ICM)’ – sometimes abbreviated carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS).

This blog post provides recommendations from an expert group given the task to monitor the progress on industrial carbon management in Europe.

Why is industrial carbon management critical?

Europe has had a head start in research and innovation relating to management of CO₂ emissions from industry (ICM). But without the right infrastructure, CO₂ storage sites and more efficient CO₂ capture technologies – we risk falling behind.

In his now famous report, The Future of European competitiveness, Mario Draghi outlined: “The EU is a global frontrunner in carbon capture technologies. Yet, it is confronted by barriers hindering the actual expansion of this segment. This is due, at least in part, to the need to secure CO₂ storage sites and transport infrastructure.” 

There is therefore an opportunity for major European companies to capitalise on innovative capture technologies and the associated technological innovations of the future which are made, designed and produced in Europe and could be deployed across the globe. Providing adequate measures to accelerate ICM in the Clean Industrial Deal is essential if European industries are to be sufficiently supported and our competitiveness is to be maintained.

What is happening now?

To ensure that climate targets are met along with a competitive industrial development, R&I is essential.  In 2016, a group of European countries together with the European Commission, industry, and researchers agreed on 10 R&I targets for ICM for 2030. These targets were updated in 2020 to better reflect the direction under the Fit for 55 package. To deliver on the 10 targets, 8 R&I activities were prioritised.

Now new updates have been made – resulting in brand new R&I activities and targets to fit the new policy landscape – including the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy, Net Zero Industry Act and Clean Industria Deal.

Countries, industry and academia working together to boost innovation

This has been done through the collaboration called the SET Plan (Strategic Energy Technology Plan). This is a tool to develop low-carbon technologies in a fast and cost-competitive way. By improving new technologies and bringing down their costs through co-ordinated national research efforts, the SET Plan promote co-operation among EU countries, companies and research institutions. It does so by co-ordinating national research and innovation activities in low-carbon energy technologies among EU countries and associated countries, as well as aligning national research and innovation programmes.

For the ICM technologies, this SET plan work is carried out under the leadership of the Norwegian and Dutch governments – in collaboration with the Zero Emissions Platform. SINTEF contributes with strategic and scientific expertise in this collaborative effort – alongside excellent colleagues across Europe, including partners in the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA).

Experts, governments and industry working together – across Europe

I am happy to contribute to this important work as the EERA JP CCS coordinator on behalf of SINTEF – together with an excellent group of experts focusing on stakeholder involvement – but also the need to conclude and provide clear advice.

It takes the right people with the right skills, willingness, stamina, and humbleness to take lead in processes aiming at agreeing on priorities for R&I having the greatest impact for Europe as a whole.

This group of expert having steered the process of updating the R&I targets and activities for industrial carbon management under the SET plan are also authors to the following report concluding on this – namely ‘Review of the IWG9 R&I activities and targets’:

Advice from expert group and broad stakeholder process

This report is easy to read – and provides highlights pointing to main aspects that needs to be focused to push the development of industrial carbon management in the coming years. Below a selection of these is presented:

R&I targets and activities

• At least 40 Final Investment Decisions taken in the industrial sector by 2030
• A European Centre of Excellence in CCUS
• CO₂ storage and infrastructure
• Geographical spread of CO₂ storage
• Support for long-distance pipelines and CO₂ network planning
• Cost reduction in CO₂ transport
• Depending on store size and injection rates, approximately 10 operational storage permits are needed in 2030, injecting around 50 Mtpa. By 2040 approximately 70 operational storage permits needed. By 2050, up to 100 storage permits could be needed.
• Coordinated CO₂ pipeline development with ongoing hydrogen pipeline development
• Develop a regionalised European plan of prioritised pre-licence storage appraisal
• By 2030, operation of at least 15 commercial-scale installations for the production of CCU fuels, chemicals and materials at a scale of min. 50 kt/a of product; complemented by several demonstration-scale facilities for innovative CCU technologies reaching TRL 6-7
• Ensure progressive connections to a CO₂ backbone for all industry sites with over 200 ktpa of CO₂ emissions relying on CCS
• Targeted research to support upscaling of CO₂ storage across Europe
• CO2 capture solutions
• Improve energy efficiency, reduce cost and reduce risk of CO₂ capture solutions
• Better CO₂ capture solutions for negative emissions technologies
• Public acceptance, legal and financial issues
• Create a CO₂ market by 2035
• Enhance public support
• Eliminate barriers under the London protocol

What this means

The SET Plan is expected to grow in importance in the coming years. The Commission’s Industrial Carbon Management Strategy (ICMS) and the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) underscore the critical role of CO₂ infrastructure in achieving Europe’s ambitious decarbonisation targets. The ICMS (2024), sets clear targets for scaling up ICM/CCUS. It aims to achieve 50 million tonnes of CO₂ storage capacity annually by 2030, with ambitions to capture and store 280 million tonnes by 2040 and 450 million tonnes by 2050. Similarly, the NZIA acknowledges that CO₂ infrastructure is vital to meeting the EU’s climate goals, setting a target of 50 million tonnes of CO₂ storage capacity by 2030. For these technologies to be viable at scale, the development of robust CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure is essential, allowing industries across Europe to capture, transport, and store CO₂ emissions safely and efficiently.

This work builds on the strong foundation laid by EERA CCS in coordinating European research and aligning national efforts toward shared goals. EERA CCS continues to provide strategic advice, coordination and insight to help deliver the ambitions of the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy.

As we move toward implementation of the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy, coordinated R&I is more vital than ever. We invite researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to engage with the updated SET Plan targets — and help build a competitive, decarbonised Europe.