Overview
- The upper house backed a government amendment allowing carbon capture by companies and permanent storage beneath the North and Baltic Seas, along with authorizing a CO2 pipeline system.
- Onshore storage is not set at the federal level, and states may decide individually, with Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony already indicating they will not permit it on land.
- Schleswig-Holstein supported the measure while recording reservations after its state parliament rejected an SSW motion opposing CCS and environmental groups warned of leakage and drinking water risks.
- The economy ministry reports Germany has no large commercial storage sites and estimates the build-out of transport and storage infrastructure will take about seven to ten years.
- A funding package of roughly €6 billion for 2026 and projects by firms such as Open Grid Europe, Ontras, Gasunie and Höegh Evi are being prepared to develop CO2 transport and storage.