CCS-CCU

Within the SET Plan strategy, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) (CCUS all together) is an essential solution for achieving climate goals

The Implementation Working Group (IWG) on CCS and CCU or IWG9 (CCUS SET-Plan) was established in 2017, under the SET Plan, to monitor the progress on CCS/CCU and help advance the research and innovation (R&I) activities required to achieve the 2020 CCS and CCU targets agreed by the European Commission, SET Plan countries, and industry.

For more information about the SET Plan, please visit the European Commission’s dedicated webpage.

Europe is taking a leading role in fighting climate change, moving towards achieving an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Adopting low-carbon technologies at industrial scale is essential for reaching this goal.

CCUS is both an enabler for industrial decarbonisation and a technology that complements European efforts to further reduce CO2 emissions and go carbon negative. The development of CO2 transport and storage infrastructure across Europe will allow all European CO2 emitters to access cost-efficient decarbonisation pathways. Furthermore, when geological storage of CO2 is not intended to be the final outcome, certain CCU applications can also be deployed to permanently store CO2, therefore helping the energy system to become more integrated. Accurate and complete carbon accounting and monitoring of CO2 is a crucial foundational element.

By introducing the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law, the EU has strengthened its climate ambitions to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The European Commission has proposed including in the European Climate Law a new EU target for 2030 of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% compared to levels in 1990.

The Commission’s proposal – now provisionally agreed with the European Parliament and the EU countries – paves the way towards achieving the net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 and the Paris Agreement goals. These developments provide the basis for CCS and CCU to progress in the coming decade. In 2020, the CCUS SET-Plan has updated its targets reflecting the EU’s ambitious environmental policy.

The CCUS implementation plan under the SET Plan lays down specific 2030 targets for CCS and CCU deployment and associated R&I priorities. The implementation plan is built on 6 clustered areas:

1. full-scale CCS projects
2. clusters and infrastructure
3. capture
4. storage
5. CCU
6. Linking EU and national strategies and plans on CCS and CCU.

Overall, the achievement of the specific targets for CCS-CCU deployment will involve:

• developing commercial-scale CCS projects from industrial CO2 sources, as well as in the power sector and for low-carbon hydrogen production
• developing European cross-border CO2 infrastructure and monitoring the progress of European CO2 Projects of Common Interest
• promoting pilot projects on promising new capture technologies and CCU
• stressing how important it is to further develop CO2 storage in Europe.

For the latest developments and activities of the CCUS SET-Plan – Targets and follow-up, reports on R&I activities, Roadmap 2030 (what will be needed to reach the 2030 targets), etc., please visit the website.

The CCU-CCS SET Plan (IWG 9) is composed of 11 SET Plan countries:  

Its members include representatives from industry, non-governmental organisations, and research institutes. The IWG is chaired by the Netherlands, Norway and the zero emissions platform. Countries and stakeholders interested in accelerating the large-scale deployment of CCUS technologies and helping to achieve the implementation plan targets are invited to participate by connecting to the secretariat.  

Documents produced by the CCUS SET-Plan are available on the  website:  

• CCUS Roadmap to 2030
• Recommendations on Research and Innovation activities: Commercial-scale CCS projects, Clusters and infrastructure, Capture, Storage, CCU, and Linking EU and national strategies and plans on CCS and CCU
• Opportunities for joint programming of R&I funding for CCUS
• Identification and recommendations of key enablers and hurdles impacting on CCUS        
• Modelling: Review of CCS/CCU in future EU decarbonisation scenarios 
• Updated CCUS SET Plan implementation plan targets, and follow up on previous targets 
• The role of CCUS in the energy system integration 
• CCUS SET Plan R&I priorities
• CCUS in the clean energy transition partnership SRIA  

Factsheets 

Factsheet 2019

CCUS SET Plan website

Contact form