Route map for CCS. Carbon capture and storage, an uncomfortable yet indispensable element of the energy transition

It is apparent from virtually all (global) scenarios that to achieve the Paris 2015 climate targets to limit global temperature rise to max. 2°C will mean implementing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). There is widespread debate and controversy about this option, however. The question is how CCS is to be developed in the Netherlands, given the different interests involved and the scale and heatedness of the current debate. The route map set out in this report addresses this question, proceeding from three premises:

• industry will be the first to implement CCS
• storage will be under the sea bed
• no allowance will yet be made for possible import or export of CO2.

This CCS route map was developed at the request of the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate by a consortium comprising De Gemeynt, CE Delft and the Margriet Kuijper Consultancy. Its development was supported by the CATO programme, with input of knowledge and expertise from TNO. The route map sets out the principal elements of the long-term perspective for CCS in the Netherlands and what steps need to be taken in the near term to ensure this option can indeed be rolled out.