Federal Government Paves the Way for CO₂ Storage and Utilization (CCS and CCU)

The German Federal Cabinet today approved the draft bill to amend the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act. The act is intended to enable the use of CCS (carbon capture and storage) and CCU (carbon capture and utilization) as well as the transport and storage of CO₂.

Federal Minister of Economics Reiche: “This is an important milestone for industry. The law enables the transport, storage, and utilization of CO₂. This is crucial, for example, for lime and cement production, which generate process emissions that cannot be avoided in any other way. We need this technology to remain competitive!”

With this decision, the German government is swiftly implementing an important goal from the coalition agreement and the immediate action program: enabling the use of CCS and CCU, especially for hard-to-avoid emissions in the industrial sector. Process-related CO₂ emissions from industry that are very difficult or impossible to avoid, especially in the production of cement and lime, must be captured and stored. This is the only way we can keep these industries in Germany and achieve our climate targets in industry. The same applies to emissions from thermal waste treatment.

With this draft law, Germany joins the ranks of countries that want to use these technologies as a means of achieving their climate targets. The law creates a legal framework for the construction of CO₂ pipelines and storage facilities, taking into account the necessary safety and environmental regulations. As agreed by the coalition factions, the overriding public interest in the construction of CO₂ infrastructures has also been established. As a result of this, and in combination with further measures to accelerate planning, companies now have the opportunity to invest in the effective construction and operation of CO₂ infrastructures in Germany as well.

The draft bill was drawn up over the past few months by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and agreed upon with the federal states, associations, and other ministries.

The main contents of the draft law are:

• Enabling the construction of carbon dioxide storage facilities for commercial use on an industrial scale in the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Marine protected areas and coastal waters are excluded from CO₂ storage.
• The option for states to enable onshore storage on German mainland territory (“opt-in”).
• Determining the overriding public interest that generally applies to the construction, operation, and significant modification of carbon dioxide pipelines and carbon dioxide storage facilities.
• Exclusion from access to the CO₂ pipeline network for emissions from energy production through the combustion of coal;
• Regulations on accelerating procedures and approvals for the development of a carbon dioxide infrastructure.

The amendment is of central importance in providing economic actors, particularly industry, plant manufacturers, and infrastructure operators, with a legal basis for their pending investment decisions. It is essential that projects get underway as early as possible, as the construction of transport and storage infrastructure can take between seven and ten years, but this infrastructure will be needed as early as the 2030s in order to achieve the climate targets that have been set.