CCUS is one of the key promising technologies that can reduce CO2 emissions in the carbon intensive industry and the only pathway for very stringent GHG emission reductions from those industries that generate CO2 as part of their production processes. Relevant industrial sectors in which inclusion of CCUS could contribute to reaching climate neutrality are for example steel, iron and cement making, oil refining, gas processing, hydrogen production, sustainable biofuel production and waste-to-energy plants. These sectors currently account for up to 20% of global CO2 emissions.

Based on a high TRL (7 – 8) CO2 capture project a detailed plan on how to use the results, i.e. the subsequent transport, utilisation and/or underground storage of the captured CO2 should be developed. Important aspects to address are of technical (e.g. the optimised integration of capture plant with industrial processes; flexibility, scalability; CO2 purity), safety (e.g. during transportation and storage), financial (e.g. cost of capture; cost of integration) and strategic nature (e.g. business models; operation and logistics of industrial clusters and networks). The project should identify a detailed set of operational, environmental, technical and economic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to allow monitoring and assessing the progress achieved by the project.

Technology development has to be balanced by an assessment of the societal readiness towards the proposed innovations. Relevant end users and societal stakeholders (such as civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, and local associations) will be identified in the proposal, and involved in deliberative activities, so as understand and address their concerns and needs. This will be analysed during the project using appropriate techniques and methods from the social sciences and humanities, in order to create awareness, gain feedback on societal impact and advancing society’s readiness for the proposed solutions. Projects should also explore the socio-economic and political barriers to acceptance and awareness with a view to regulatory or policy initiatives and include aspects of circularity and best use of resources. Successful projects will be encouraged to join the EU CCUS knowledge sharing project network.