The European Commission has awarded €2.9 billion (~$3.3 billion) in grants under the latest EU Innovation Fund call, selecting 61 net-zero technology projects and signaling accelerating momentum behind carbon capture, and storage (CCS) and CO2 transport across the continent.
Several of the winning proposals advance new CO2 value chains beyond the North Sea, with projects in Belgium, France, Italy, Greece and Romania contributing to inland capture routes, open-access storage hubs and emerging maritime transport corridors.
According to the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), this round of selections marks a significant milestone for Europe’s carbon management ambitions.
“With these awards, EU-funded capture projects alone now account for nearly half of the Net-Zero Industry Act’s target of 50 million tons of annual CO2 injection capacity by 2030, signaling clear demand,” said Toby Lockwood, Technology and Markets Director for Carbon Capture at CATF.
“To deliver on this momentum, and enable industrial decarbonisation in the EU, obligated entities must advance storage infrastructure and governments must help to enable cross-border transport.”
Relevant: CATF Roadmap Charts Cost-Effective CCS Deployment For Central and Eastern Europe
Among the selected initiatives, cement and lime producers feature prominently. Large-scale capture projects such as AirvaultGoCO2 and VAIA in France, ANTHEMIS in Belgium, and DREAM in Italy underscore the industry’s role in early CCS deployment.
Romania’s Carbon Hub CPT01 represents a major inland development, linking Holcim’s Campulung cement plant, responsible for around 1 Mt CO2 annually, and a nearby lime facility to a new onshore geological storage site.
New Transport Models and Early Maritime Pilots
The Innovation Fund awards also highlight the emergence of CO2 transport-as-a-service. Spain’s COnet2 Sea project will establish dedicated large-scale liquid CO2 shipping capability, enabling emitters to move ahead before pipeline networks are in place.
Greece’s planned open-access CO2 export terminal and new maritime capture pilots further broaden the portfolio, integrating shipping-based carbon management into EU-backed development.
Relevant: Industry Leaders Urge EU To Back Zero-Carbon Ships And Planes In STIP
These projects arrive as Europe seeks to scale carbon management solutions for hard-to-abate sectors (cement, chemicals, steel and waste) where emissions are intrinsic to industrial processes.
Studies suggest the EU may need to capture 300-600 million tons of CO2 per year by 2050, making CCS a central complement to renewables, electrification and efficiency measures.
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