The project created meetings and activities gathering a wide range of stakeholders to agree on actions required to progress the deployment of CCS and CCU in Europe.
The first year of the project has been extremely active with many achievements and successes, including:
• Executing the IWG9/ZEP coordination: we organised 29 Advisory and Network meetings and 36 working group meetings.
• Responding to consultations and organising webinars on CO2 storage and transport infrastructure. Active communications with social media, op-eds and presentations.
• Report on biodiversity and preparing reports on CO2 transport by ship, on supply chains, and on specifications for transport.
• Support to the EC CCUS Forum. Active input to the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the Net Zero Industry Act.
• Net-Zero Within Reach conference in April 2023 with 200 in-person attendees
The second year of the project was equally impactful, with a large momentum for CCS and CCU in the market and amongst policymakers. The publication of the EU’s Industrial Carbon Management Strategy really is a landmark achievement and has its foundations in the very strong connections with the EU Commission
Results for the second year included
• Delivery of the grant – full continuation of service despite personnel and structural changes
• Alignment on important policy files and developments, notably on critical EU policy initiatives such as the Net-Zero Industry Act, the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy and the Carbon Removal Certification Framework.
• Support for CCS projects – with the launch of the Projects Network, the ZEP is now executing its strategy to focus not also on the deployment of CCS.
• Thought leadership – reports on CO2 transport by ship, on public perception of CCS and the Just Transition. As for the IWG9, the key result in this context is the review of the CCUS SET Plan targets.
The third and last year of the project proved to be impactful as well, especially due to the increased interest in CCUS through the publication of the Clean Industrial Deal and the implementation of the Net Zero Industry Act.
The third year of the project saw significant impact from the following activities:
• The hosting of multiple workshops with topics such as project financing, insurance and CO2 Storage Monitoring.
• The increased interest in the financial aspect led to the implementation of a Financing WG under the Policy and Economics Committee.
• The successful organisation and hosting of 2 flagship events: the European ICM Summit in Brussels, Belgium, and the Projects Network event in Bologna, Italy.
• The publication of the review of the SET Plan CCUS R&I Activities and Targets.
