Overview
- Upper‑house approval completes a law that allows industrial CCS and CCU and authorizes a national CO2 pipeline network after prior Bundestag passage.
- Storage is permitted mainly beneath the North and Baltic Sea but barred in coastal proximity and protected marine areas.
- Federal rules leave onshore storage to state discretion, with states such as Schleswig‑Holstein backing the law while logging formal reservations.
- The economy ministry estimates a seven‑to‑ten‑year build‑out, leaving the private sector to plan and operate infrastructure, with no state‑run onshore facilities.
- Berlin has signaled about €6 billion in 2026 funding that includes CCS/CCU, as industry groups call the framework essential and environmental NGOs warn of cost, leakage and fossil‑fuel lock‑in risks.