Carbon removal and circularity for climate change mitigation and EU industrial resilience
Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and net negative emissions thereafter requires not only deep emission reductions, but also large-scale carbon removal. In view of this, the European Climate Law[[https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/european-climate-law_en]] recognises that permanent removals will play an increasing role in the EU economy in the coming decades. The Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF)[[https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/carbon-removals-and-carbon-farming_en]] establishes the first EU-wide voluntary certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products. This regulatory framework creates the foundation for a trusted European carbon removal market. The first certification methodologies for permanent carbon removal activities, including Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage (DACCS), Biogenic Emissions Capture with Carbon Storage (BioCCS), and Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR), were adopted in early 2026, with further methodologies being considered. In July 2026, the European Commission proposed to integrate permanent removals in the EU Emission Trading System (ETS)[[https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/carbon-markets/eu-emissions-trading-system-eu-ets_en]] as of 2031 by purchasing 250 Mt of CRCF-certified DACCS and BioCCS.
In parallel, over half the EU’s energy consumption comes from imported fossil fuels[[https://energy.ec.europa.eu/document/download/7fac9eea-5717-4182-a368-bd68c427ff4c_en?filename=Communication.pdf]] with volatile global markets. To reduce its dependence on these imports while ensuring sufficient access to carbon to meet the needs of hard to abate sectors, such as fuels, chemicals or materials, for which carbon is embedded in their products, the EU must also develop carbon utilisation rather than only storing CO2 permanently underground.
This Challenge has the twin objective therefore of supporting the EU’s climate targets and ensuring industrial value chain resilience by supporting technologies for carbon removal and utilisation.
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
By targeting deep-tech solutions, this Challenge will look to:
- Significantly accelerate the scale-up of CCU and CDR technologies
- Demonstrate technologies at industrially relevant scales
- Develop fully sustainable solutions, maximising energy and cost efficiency while minimising the use of Critical and Strategic Raw Materials to ensure scalability without new dependencies
- Contribute to the emergence of a competitive European carbon removal value chain in the emerging global carbon removal market, by accelerating the commercialisation and deployment of permanent carbon removal technologies across Europe
- Support new business models, with early links to end-users and customers, including corporates, procurement channels and off-takers, to develop technically and commercially viable technologies.