Delivery of industrial CCUS clusters – Societal Readiness pilot

Detailed planning and preparation for retrofitting capture systems to existing industrial plants;

Demonstrating important system components;

Identification and characterisation of the clustering potential of (cross-border) regional CO2 emitters;

Optimisation of industrial symbiosis between emitters and potential users of CO2;

Development of tools to optimise the design and operation of the cluster(s) and operate CO2 streams with different compositions, flow rates and operating regimes to comply with the constraints for the shared transport and storage infrastructure;

Identification of potential regional users of a common CO2 infrastructure (this could also include enlargement counties, such as the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova);

Comprehensive economic and technical assessment to identify the best (multimodal) transport options, including the re-use of existing infrastructure;

Development of business models for regional CO2 transport networks, including for dispersed industrial sites to link these to larger industrial clusters or pipeline networks;

Consideration of feasible CO2 geological storage services

Comprehensive set of studies and preparatory actions leading to permitting;

Scenarios for integrating CO2 infrastructure in (plans for) regional, national and/or cross-border energy networks (electricity, hydrogen, natural gas), also in relation to future changes in industrial landscape and energy supply mix.

Proposals should follow the instructions applying to the Societal Readiness pilot, as described in the introduction of the Horizon Europe Main Work Programme 2026-2027 for Climate, Energy and Mobility. They entail the use of an interdisciplinary approach to deepening consideration and responsiveness of R&I activities to societal needs and concerns.