Denmark’s position paper on Capture,
Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)
Denmark’s main priorities to support the development of a well-functioning
European system for Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)
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Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage is a decisive tool for meeting climate goals.
Development and roll-out of CCUS should be market driven.
At the European level focus should be on developing the right framework conditions for the
development of a single market for CO
2
.
Denmark urges the Commission to launch its CO
2
-transport package announced in the
Industrial Carbon Management Strategy as soon as possible and preferably in 2025.
Challenge
Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is a decisive tool for meeting climate goals, both globally and at
the EU level. CCUS is an important supplement to a deep, rapid, and sustained effort to mitigate greenhouse gas
emissions as we approach climate neutrality.
To reach net-zero by 2050 and absolute negative emissions thereafter will require CCUS to deliver reductions
and removals well before 2040. According to the European Commission, 280 million tonnes of CO
2
by 2040 and
450 million tonnes by 2050 have to be captured to reach the EU’s climate goals.
In certain sectors it is currently either not possible or still too expensive to avoid all emissions. This is where
CCUS technology is of decisive importance. CCS is a central tool in achieving CO
2
reductions in these hard to
abate sectors and to achieve negative emissions. CCU will help us produce enough green fuels and chemicals
for the transition of the hard to abate sectors such as industry, aviation and shipping.
CCUS needs to increase in scale and decrease in price, and this will require rapid and major developments in
the EU in the coming years.
Solution
Development and roll-out of CCUS should be market driven. When establishing a new, single market for CO
2
, it
is important to focus on the entire value chain from capture through transport to utilization or storage of CO
2
and
to consider the interdependencies between the different parts of the chain.
The EU Innovation Fund has supported CCS projects with revenue generated by the EU ETS, expecting
approximately 10Mt CO
2
to be captured and operational as early as 2027. At the same time, NZIA sets a Union-
level objective to be achieved by 2030 for an annual injection capacity in CO
2
storage of 50Mt CO
2
. To succeed,
its important to determine the approach for CO
2
transport by pipelines to ensure a coherent value chain for
capture, transport, utilisation and storage. Without transport no value chain.
As far as possible the market actors should be allowed to develop the market by themselves. In the coming years,
the EU should take the necessary steps to address regulatory and economic barriers for a single market for CO
2
in Europe. We need to make sure that any new initiatives support and does not risk delaying the front-runner
CCUS projects. In the current stage of the market development it should be considered how best to encourage
private investments in all parts of the CCUS value chain, and where needed the EU should facilitate the
development of the market.