Developing crossborder CO2 transport and storage infrastructure

Over the past few years, acronyms like CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage) and terms like CO2 Transport have been subject to increased interest by policymakers in Brussels and by industry leaders alike. Mario Draghi’s report: The future of European competitiveness1, and the European Commission’s legislative initiatives such as the upcoming CO2 Markets and Infrastructure package set a clear trajectory for the EU compass: CCUS and CO2 Transport are no longer ideas, but a reality of Europe’s new industrial era that will allow it to meet its 2040 Climate Target.

Connecting the Dots: Planning for cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure:

At the early stages of development, Europe’s future CO2 network is likely to be characterised by industrial clusters connected to dedicated storage facilities.

Over time, connections between clusters and storage sites can be expected to evolve, leading to the gradual emergence of regional, cross-border, and eventually pan-European networks.

The driver for transport infrastructure development and its spanning across EU Member State borders will be strongly influenced by sheer geography, the location of main emitting clusters and potential storage or sequestration sites, whether onshore or offshore. Significant cost efficiencies can be achieved by planning this grid effectively from the outset, rather than allowing it to develop in a fragmented manner. Close coordination between future National Development Plans (NDPs) and any requested EU Ten-Year Network Development Plans 1 Report – The future of European competitiveness: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/ competitiveness/draghi-report_en Developing crossborder CO2 transport and storage infrastructure (TYNDPs) for CO2 and those that are currently in place for natural gas, electricity and hydrogen will therefore be critical. In some cases, the CO2 network will be built by repurposing existing gas pipelines. This makes holistic planning essential to ensure efficiency, affordability, and system-wide coherence, especially when considering the repurposing needs for hydrogen, and importantly, to ensure ongoing security of supply. This leads to a clear conclusion: a dedicated regulatory framework should be established to bring CO2 infrastructure, both transport and storage, within the TYNDP process. Doing so would support energy system integration, enable national grid planning that reflects a broader EU perspective, and build on the trusted principles of the TYNDP integrated planning, including stakeholder consultation and transparency.

Connecting with Confidence – Standards, Interoperability and Quality:

Beyond infrastructure planning, establishing standards, interoperability, and quality requirements will be decisive for the success of a European CO2 transport system. Specif ications for CO2 composition and quality are critical to ensuring safety and enabling crossborder flows. In addition, leveraging experience from the existing gas infrastructure can help lower costs and accelerate the rollout of the CO2 system. Together, these principles aim to create a reliable, integrated CO2 transport and storage system across Europe. To this end, a minimum set of requirements for CO2 specifications must be established, and EU-wide rules, such as an Interoperability Network Code (INT NC)2, as has been done for natural gas transmission, should be developed 2 Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/703: https:// eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/703/oj/eng Photography : Porthos for CO2 infrastructure. Such rules would be particularly important for cross-border CO2 f lows involving different network operators. A common, EU-wide regulatory framework will be essential to support the operation of shared infrastructure and the development of a European network linking emitters and storage sites. This potential set of EU rules should therefore address key principles, including the establishment of interconnection agreements and coordination rules between adjacent operators; a harmonised unit system; defined CO2 quality parameters; and robust data exchange requirements

Until such rules are adopted, CO2 network operators will need to manage cross-border interoperability through bilateral agreements, ideally based on these common principles.

However, in the absence of EU-level harmonisation, this approach risks creating a complex patchwork of agreements that may prove difficult to align at a later stage. As an interim solution, the development of EU-wide guidelines could provide a structured framework to help operators align practices across Member States. Interoperability considerations also extend to standardisation efforts at the European level. The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) is expected to deliver EU standards covering key aspects of the CCUS value chain, particularly with regard to CO2 quality. It is advisable that Member States, and by extension CO2 infrastructure operators, adopt these standards. Early alignment with CEN standards would help mitigate potential CO2 quality issues, promote consistency across the EU, and support a smoother regulatory transition as the CO2 market and infrastructure framework matures.

Developing an interconnected European vision:

Ambitions will remain aspirational until technical solutions are scaled to enable crossborder networks. Interoperable CO2 transport networks, harmonised standards, quality and coordinated planning are the key ingredients to develop robust infrastructure for CO2 transport and storage, which will in turn support Europe’s trajectory towards its decarbonised, affordable and competitive future. The 2025 Projects of Common Interest (PCI) list3 includes 17 CO2 transport and storage projects, demonstrating that Europe’s decarbonisation compass points in the right direction. However, reaching the destination and achieving this vision will ultimately require additional coordinated investment, clear regulatory frameworks, market rules and cross-border collaboration.

Read more about CO2 Transport projects at ENTSOG Innovation Projects Platform.

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1 Report – The future of European competitiveness: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/ competitiveness/draghi-report_en

2 Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/703: https:// eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/703/oj/eng

3 Delegated Regulation on the second Union list of Projects of Common and Mutual Interest and its annex: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/publications/ delegated-regulation-second-union-list-projectscommon-and-mutual-interest-and-its-annex_en