CO₂ Value Europe Submits Key Consultation Responses to Advance CCU in Europe

As the EU continues to advance its climate and industrial policies, several important consultations have taken place this summer on topics crucial for the Carbon Capture & Utilisation (CCU) community.

Despite tight timelines, CO₂ Value Europe gathered input and submitted positions on a range of files that will directly shape the investment and policy landscape for CCU solutions. Here are the key highlights:

🔵 Innovation Fund

We reaffirmed strong support for the Innovation Fund as a cornerstone for scaling up cleantech. However, to fully enable CCU projects, the Fund must become more inclusive, transparent, and accessible to diverse stakeholders. Find more here.

🔵 Bioeconomy Strategy

In our response, we called on the European Commission to build much more direct and explicit connections between biomanufacturing and CCU. By reusing biogenic carbon, CCU can unlock additional potential in the bioeconomy, provided EU institutions foster synergies across sectors rather than regulate in silos. Find more here.

🔵 Single-Use Plastics Recycled Content Methodology

We urged the Commission to adopt a methodology that includes circular content accounting, such as recycled content, sustainable biomass, and CO₂-based feedstock. Excluding CCU would undoubtedly slow down progress; CCU is essential to deliver further and faster on Europe’s circularity goals. Find more here.

🔵 CBAM Downstream Products

On the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism extension, we advocated for a dedicated approach for downstream products like hydrocarbons that differentiates between process emissions and embedded carbon. We showed how such an extension would need to come with additional legal certainty to unlock the domestic production of green products like their imports. Find more here.

Over the coming months, we will continue engaging with EU institutions to share these positions and secure fit-for-purpose rules that drive investment into CCU.

More consultations are already in the pipeline, stay tuned for our next contributions.