A new EU initiative to decarbonise industrial clusters in the Baltic and Mediterranean regions aims to meet the ‘challenging’ targets laid out in the Paris Agreement.
The project, CCUS ZEN (Zero Emission Network), is being coordinated by Norwegian research group SINTEF to accelerate the roll-out of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects to reduce CO2 emissions across energy-intensive industries across Europe.
According to the International Energy Agency, 14% of the total emissions reduction by 2060 must come from carbon capture and storage (CCS) to meet existing Paris Agreement goals.
By building a network and sharing knowledge acquired through first-hand CCUS experience, SINTEF intends to accelerate development of CCUS projects and identify opportunities in CO2 transport and storage.
Consisting of 14 partners and around 60 network partners from eight EU member states, the current network includes organisations working across the entire CCUS value chain, including those in CCUS infrastructure, ports, transport, ships, the pipeline industry, energy, and CO2 storage.
“To achieve implementation of CCUS in Europe, participation, and support from a wide range of actors across the CCUS value chain is crucial,” said Eirik Falck da Silva, CCUS ZEN project coordinator and research manager at SINTEF.
The project also aims to cultivate discussion and knowledge sharing between countries and regions further ahead in the CCUS journey and those with less experience.
“We are delighted to have already brought together many key academic and industry partners and hope we can expand our network further over the next two and a half years,” added da Silva.
CCUS ZEN was officially launched last month (1st Sept) at a two-day event hosted by one of the partners, Technip Energies.
Funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe initiative, the project will last for two and a half years.
