- IOGP Europe data shows that cancellations and postponements have cut the announced CO₂ storage pipeline from 43 Mtpa to 35 Mtpa by 2030; only 0.025 Mtpa of injection capacity is currently operational and projects that have reached final investment decisions represent just 2.9 Mtpa.
- The European Commission’s own first assessment found that plans from obligated oil and gas companies would deliver only about 29 million tonnes of injection capacity by 2030, less than two thirds of the target.
- Industry groups warn that the EU lacks a robust policy framework and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that obligated companies deliver storage sites.
Europe’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) dreams may be facing a reality check. While Brussels claims the continent is on track to build enough geological storage to meet its 2030 climate targets, independent analyses show a widening gap between ambition and execution.
Cancellations, delays and under‑delivery threaten to leave Europe with barely half of the CO₂ injection capacity it needs to support industrial decarbonisation by the end of the decade.
Official optimism
The EU’s Net‑Zero Industry Act, adopted in 2024, requires member states to ensure that oil and gas producers develop at least 50 million tonnes per year of CO₂ storage capacity by 2030.
A progress report published by the European Commission in May said the target “remains within reach,” noting that new permits at Porthos in the Netherlands, Greensand in Denmark and Prinos in Greece, along with the K14‑FAFC site, will collectively add about 19 Mt of injection capacity once operational.
The Commission highlights that four permits were awarded in the past year, compared with a single permit between 2009 and 2024, and that at least seven more sites are expected to come online with a total capacity of 19 Mtpa. Officials argue that rapid permitting and strong demand from industrial emitters mean the target is achievable if projects proceed quickly.
Yet the Commission’s own first assessment of company submissions tells a different story. According to its monitoring report, obligated oil and gas companies are on course to provide only around 29 Mtpa of injection capacity by 2030 – well short of the 50 Mtpa target. That discrepancy reflects a combination of delays, cancellations and scaling‑back of projects.
Trade association IOGP Europe notes that its updated map shows a net reduction of ten announced CO₂ storage projects since late 2025. The total announced injection capacity has fallen from 43 Mtpa to 35 Mtpa by 2030, leaving the EU further behind its NZIA obligation.
Moreover, the current operational capacity is just 0.025 Mtpa, and projects that have secured final investment decisions amount to only 2.9 Mtpa. The gap between announced and approved projects highlights how far Europe has to go: even if all announced projects proceed, there is little contingency for delays.
Lack of incentives
Industry experts argue that the problem is not technical potential but policy design. Europe has ample geological capacity, with the North Sea alone capable of storing billions of tonnes of CO₂. However, the NZIA places the obligation to build storage sites on oil and gas companies without providing a clear financial incentive.
IOGP Europe managing director François‑Régis Mouton de Lostalot has warned that “targets alone do not deliver projects”. Without carbon prices, contracts for difference or investment guarantees, companies may delay or cancel projects if they cannot secure long‑term demand from capture facilities.
The Commission report also notes that more than 100 carbon capture projects representing over 80 Mtpa of captured CO₂ are seeking support through the Innovation Fund. This suggests that capture capacity could outpace storage, creating a bottleneck.
Analysts say that without sufficient storage, captured CO₂ may be vented or used only temporarily in products rather than permanently sequestered.
If Europe fails to close the storage gap, it could jeopardise its 2030 emissions‑reduction goals. Industrial sectors such as cement, steel, chemicals and waste‑to‑energy rely on CCS to decarbonise processes that have no easy alternatives. Hydrogen producers also need geological storage to sequester by‑product CO₂. Without storage, many of these projects will stall, undermining the EU’s competitiveness in clean technologies.
Policy advisers argue that member states must implement robust penalty regimes for companies that miss their obligations and develop risk‑reduction measures such as state‑backed contracts for difference.
The EU could also establish a carbon storage market or coordinate cross‑border infrastructure. But with the 2030 deadline looming, decisions made in the next two years will determine whether Europe’s CCS sector becomes a cornerstone of decarbonisation or another case of over‑promising and under‑delivering.
