Focus area

Industry

Focus area

Industry

Industry is a crucial component of the global economy, but it also has a significant impact on the environment.

The energy-intensive nature of many industrial activities as well as the nature of the industrial processes themselves means that they are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to meet climate change targets, industry must transition to low-carbon energy and feedstock sources and other means to radically reduce its emissions.

In short:

Industrial decarbonisation will require carbon capture and storage (CCS) for emissions where there are no other alternatives, or availability is problematic.

Hydrogen will be inevitable to decarbonise some industrial processes that cannot be electrified but will be scarce for the foreseeable future.

Industry has a wide array of options at hand to reduce its emissions. Depending on the processes used, increased circularity, energy efficiency, a change of combustion fuel or feedstock, or electrification can be some of the viable options available, while most of the time a combination of these is most relevant.

The decarbonisation option of CCS involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes and then storing them permanently. This is particularly relevant for process emissions, which are not related to the type of combustible used and can only be significantly reduced by capturing and storing them. Such process emissions exist in cement and lime industries, for example.

Another decarbonisation option is the use of hydrogen for industry. It can be used as a feedstock in a variety of industrial processes but can also serve as a fuel where direct electrification of an industrial process is not possible. Hydrogen releases no greenhouse gases when it is burned, but depending on how it is produced and transported, it can have varying levels of negative impacts on the climate.

Many tools are available to industry to decarbonise. Ensuring the most energy-efficient and cost-effective options are chosen that consider wider system impacts is important to both decarbonise rapidly and to keep a competitive edge on the global market.

Related focus areas

Hydrogen Use

Carbon Capture and Storage

Projects related to focus area

Ports2Decarb

Getting to net zero faster with ports as decarbonisation hubs With Ports2Decarb project Bellona Europa will intensify work with ports to decarbon...

CCS4NetZeroIndustry

This campaign builds upon Bellona’s ongoing efforts to promote a modern, clean, secure, and intelligent CCS infrastructure in Europe. Our previous TE...

Publications related to focus area

All publications

Consultation Response: France’s CCUS Strategy

On the 23rd of June 2023, French Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne presented France’s Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage strategy during a meeting ...

21/11/2023

Consultation Response: Industrial Carbon Management Strategy

The European Commission published in October 2022 its intention to develop a Communication on its strategic vision for the deployment of Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) in the EU, to be published by the end of 2023. As outlined in a letter signed by Bellona, CATF and several other stakeholders in early June 2023, the European Commission was strongly urged to ensure the publication of the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy before the end of 2023 and along with its fast implementation.

28/07/2023

Carbon Capture and Storage Ladder: Assessing the Climate Value of CCS Applications in Europe

Together with E3G and independent co-authors, our colleagues from Bellona Deutschland have published a "CCS Ladder" for Europe, inspired by the ladder for clean hydrogen by Liebreich Associates. With this work, we hope to initiate a more nuanced discussion about the climate benefits of various CCS applications while advocating that public support – ranging from infrastructure planning to policy frameworks or financial assistance – should be focused on applications with the greatest climate benefits. This work aims to support ongoing discussions on carbon management strategies at various levels, including the CMS in Germany and the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act.

05/07/2023

Hydrogen DRI for Steel in a Resource-Constrained Europe: How Much Renewable Electricity is Needed to Decarbonise the Sector with Green Hydrogen

The European Union (EU) is the world’s second largest steel producer after China, with an annual production capacity of about 150 million metric tons in 2021 and home to over 500 steel production sites in 22 member states1. The sector is a vital component of the EU’s economy, directly providing jobs for around 310.000 people and many more in downstream sectors of the steel value chain, such as construction or the automotive industry. It contributes some €125 billion to the EU’s GDP annually1. Importantly, steel is an indispensable material for various parts of the energy transition, such as wind turbines, solar power plants, electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure and energy storage systems.

03/07/2023

Bellona Europa Consultation Response: Net Zero Industry Act

The NZIA aims to promote net zero technologies at climate relevant timelines, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS). The act also covers crucial aspects of a just transition, by highlighting the need for skills and creation of sustainable jobs for a net-zero future. The text also covers means of speeding up permitting. An area of concern identified by Bellona Europa is that faster permitting carries risks of blanket support for technologies which need robust regulatory frameworks. This is particularly the case for hydrogen. The inclusion of hydrogen must contain strict conditionality to ensure its production and use comes with an actual climate benefit. To ensure the NZIA delivers on its potential to further climate ambition, Bellona Europa suggest addressing and revising crucial parts of the text

01/06/2023

Consultation Response on the list of candidate Projects of Common Interest in the thematic area of cross-border CO2 transport and storage networks

A total of 18 cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure projects applied for the status as a “Project of Common Interest” (PCI) or “Project of Mutual Interest” (PMI, in cases of projects involving non-EU countries), covering 17 EU Member States and 4 non-EU countries. These projects collectively show tremendous potential for making a European CO2 transport and storage network a reality, enabling large-scale European industrial decarbonisation.

02/03/2023

Competitive Bidding schemes for hydrogen under the Innovation Fund

Hydrogen provides credible climate solutions by decarbonising high-emitting sectors where direct electrification is not possible. Targeted use of hydrogen, by reviewing alternatives on a case-by-case basis, results in an efficient EU energy system. There is a need to look beyond the hydrogen hype to realise more efficient forms of resource use. This means deploying direct electrification wherever possible.

01/02/2023

Germany’s Industriestand at a Crossroads – The strategic and economic case for industrial CCS

In this policy briefing, we present the strategic case for CCS in Germany and outline the work of Bellona Deutschland on accelerating the emerging momentum on the back of the current crisis in order to move from project to implementation and transformation.

20/12/2022

Amended Proposal: Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Revised Guidelines

Bellona Europa greatly welcomes the launched call for evidence on the TEN-T Regulation in the wake of a new geopolitical reality and the REPowerEU strategy. In addition to the outlined changes in line with the “Solidarity Lanes” Commission Communication and the need to update the TEN-T maps and connectivity to Ukraine and Moldova, we urge that the important role of the green and just transition is not only kept in the proposal, but also expanded to include multiple transport modalities for transporting CO2 to storage from industrial emitters.

12/07/2022

121 Solutions

We have defined 121 solutions that our experts believe will be important to cut emissions, and reaching the 2050-targets of the Paris Agreement. These solutions are divided into seven categories, and all of them depend on five fundamental requirements that have to be in place to cut emissions all over the world.

14/10/2021

Waste incineration and Carbon Capture and Storage Position Paper

Waste reduction, separation, recycling and sorting of residual waste are all needed to reduce emissions and environmental impacts in the industry. That said, carbon capture and storage can also reduce emissions in the remaining waste incinerators that will be operational in the decades to come and should be a requirement for their operation.

04/10/2021

The Industrial CCS Support Framework in the Netherlands

This policy brief outlines and explains the current framework that is in place to deliver CCS as one of the decarbonisation solutions for Dutch industry through a combination of support instruments, most notably the SDE++, and increasing penalties for emitting CO2 through a new carbon tax that effectively tops up the EU ETS price.

26/07/2021

The net-zero compatibility test: a simple guide for GHG accounting of CO2 use

This briefing outlines the basic greenhouse gas accounting principles for the assessment of the climate impact of synthetic hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals.

13/07/2021

Contract Incentives for Industrial Carbon Capture

Contracts giving incentives for reducing emissions by carbon capture have a valuable role to play in stimulating deployment of early CCS. Contracts may be Contracts for Difference (CfDs) on the market carbon price, but will not necessarily be so. The form of the contract will depend on how changes in carbon prices affect project income.

18/06/2021

Models for Transport and Storage of Captured CO2

Carbon capture projects require guaranteed, reliable access to safe and cost-effective CO2 transport and storage. Without this it will not be possible for capture projects to secure investment, or for CCS to play the role it needs to play in reaching emissions reductions goals.

18/06/2021

Brief: TEN-E missing puzzle piece on pathway to Net-Zero

"Ten-E missing puzzle piece on pathway to Net-Zero" which aims to explain how the inclusion of TEN-E could contribute to the EU climate objectives and the deployment of a net-zero future. the Revised TEN-E European Commission’s draft neglects some key elements for geologic storage and transport modalities other than pipeline - integral parts of the value chain of carbon capture, removal and storage. A monumental shift in policy is needed to scale it – and we believe TEN-E is a perfect place to start.

23/02/2021

Consultation Response – Revised TEN-E Regulation

Following our consultation response in December 2020 and July 2020, we submitted our latest response to the public consultation on the revision of the TEN-E Regulation. The revision of the TEN-E Regulation is a watershed moment for the future of Europe’s CO2 networks. By not addressing or amending the category of CO2 networks, the current proposal is in direct contrast with the underlying justification for the ongoing revision of the TEN-E Regulation, as outlined in the European Green Deal.

22/02/2021

Briefing: Norway’s Longship CCS Project

In this briefing we describe the Norwegian CCS project "Longship" giving an overview of the project and the stages of its CCS chain. The project is receiving Norwegian Government funding, hence we further analyse financial risks and estimated project costs. Finally, we calculate cost per tonnes of avoided CO2 within the premises of the Longship project and its contribution to climate mitigation.

30/10/2020

Consultation Response – TEN-E Regulation – July 2020

The revised TEN-E Regulation must reflect the urgent need for climate action, and be in line with pathways to reach the target of carbon neutrality by 2050. It t must encourage and facilitate the development of energy carriers consistent with the transition to a low-carbon world. Particularly, the revised TEN-E regulation must reflect the urgency of facilitating the deployment of crucial Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, as well as excluding unabated fossil fuel infrastructure projects which are massive risk bearers for emissions lock-in.

13/07/2020

Position Paper for a Clean Hydrogen Alliance: Hydrogen From Electricity – Setting Sustainability Standards

Renewable, low carbon and clean hydrogen that is produced from electricity requires Sustainability Criteria to deliver emissions reductions, increase renewable deployment and to prevent greenwashing of fossil fuels.

06/07/2020

Consultation Response – The Future TEN-E – June 2020

TEN-E: Europe needs modern, clean, secure, future-proof and smart energy infrastructure to deliver the Green Deal.

04/06/2020

Consultation Response – European Climate Law – achieving climate neutrality by 2050 – May 2020

In our consultation response We find it necessary to remind the European Commission that while NETPs will have a role to play in the plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, it cannot be perceived as a silver bullet.

05/05/2020

Consultation Response – Climate Law Roadmap – April 2020

The proposed “Climate Law”, if done right, has the potential to deliver on the European promise to become a “Global Leader” on tackling climate change. For this to occur, the Law needs to ensure that all EU policies actively contribute to and are in line with the aims of the Paris Agreement.

16/04/2020

Consultation Response – 2030 Climate Target Plan – April 2020

Bellona Europa submitted its response to the European Commission’s Inception Impact Assessment for the 2030 Climate Target Plan with five main reccomandations.

16/04/2020

Restoring Europe. The European Green Deal and the future of Europe

Bellona is deeply invested in the future of Europe and the importance of European leadership in tackling climate change on a global scale. The world’s...

04/12/2019

Keeping business as usual: CO2 avoidance in the EU ETS Monitoring and Reporting Regulation

The upcoming revision EU Emission Trading System (ETS) includes the update of the regulation on monitoring and reporting (MRR)i. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the EU ETS in reducing emissions, the reporting and monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions must remain ‘’robust, transparent, consistent and accurate’’ii.

28/11/2019

Understanding our Future

Climate change is happening. Human activity has caused and continues to contribute to towards it; the current and projected severity of its impacts ha...

28/11/2018

An Industry’s Guide to Climate Action

Did you know that European industry emissions are already larger than total coal power emissions in the EU? Did you also know that one in five jobs in...

26/11/2018

Virtuous climate ambitions, virtual solutions: Precarious delivery of industrial CO2 capture & storage projects in Norway

This policy brief looks at the role of Norway's CCS projects and their possible effects on roll-out of CCS projects in Northern and Western Europe. The brief is partly a response to a report by consultancy Atkins on the costs and benefits of the Norwegian CCS project, which has several major shortcomings and is therefore not suitable as a basis for a Norwegian government or parliament decision on investment in a full-scale CCS value chain.

26/03/2018

BellonaBrief: CCU in the EU ETS: risk of CO2 laundering preventing a permanent CO2 solution

Drastically reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is necessary to reach the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. The permanent geological disposal of CO2 captured from industrial facilities, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), provides an essential and achievable avenue for reaching this objective. In this brief, Bellona explains why Carbon Capture and Use/Utilisation methods, except for those allowing for permanent storage of CO2, should be excluded from the ETS.

26/10/2016

Manufacturing Our Future: Industries, European Regions, and Climate Action

BRUSSELS - Today, 13 October 2016, Bellona is proud to present its new report “Manufacturing our Future: Industries, European Regions and Climate Action – CO2 Networks for the Ruhr, Rotterdam, Antwerp & the greater Oslo Fjord” at its publication event in Brussels.

13/10/2016

BellonaBrief: Brexit Implications on Climate, Energy and Environment

On 24 June 2016 the United Kingdom voted 52% to 48% in a referendum to leave the European Union. Many resources are now likely to be diverted from running the EU and progressing important policies toward instead managing and negotiating the referendum implications. While many uncertainties and questions remain to be addressed, one thing remains certain: Bellona has championed environmental and climate protection in Europe from outside EU membership for over 20 years and will continue to do so. While domestic implications for the UK remain unclear, NGOs’ voices in Europe will continue to be heard.

27/06/2016

Sustainable use of resources in the Arctic

The reason why Bellona has written this report is our recognition that there are people living and working in the Arctic and there will be human activ...

25/01/2016

North Sea to the Rescue: The commercial and industrial opportunities of CO2 storage in the North Sea

CCS is an indispensable component of national and global decarbonisation pathways as recognised by the IPCC, the IEA, and the European Commission. Using estimates of the CO2 required to be stored in the North Sea for Europe to reach its 2050 decarbonisation objectives, Bellona has estimated the size of the future North Sea CO2 storage sector. The CO2 storage sector has the potential to become a major North Sea enterprise, employing 22,000 people by 2030. Countries surrounding the North Sea basin must act to encourage the sectors development and to enable Europe to decarbonise effectively. The key findings of this report are being launched today at Bellona's COP 21 side event themed 'From extraction to injection: North Sea CO2 storage and the CCS business case'.

08/12/2015

BellonaBrief: IPCC 5th Climate Assessment Report: An unequivocal call for action on (Bio-)CCS

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 5AR, 2014) issued a stark warning: to stand a reasonable chance of avoiding disastrous climate change, we have to remain within a ‘safe’ level of CO2 emissions so that average global temperature rise is limited to 2°C. Because more than half of the CO2 ‘budget’ that allows us to remain within this threshold has already been used and current rates will exhaust the remainder within 25 years, the IPCC’s scenarios now rely on negative emissions to keep temperature rise below 2°C. These in turn are attainable through the combination of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and sustainable biomass used for energy or products, so-called Bio-CCS or BECCS.

07/12/2015

BellonaBrief: The carbon negative solution – incentivising Bio-CCS in Europe

18/11/2015

BellonaBrief: CO2 Utilisation by mineralisation – much ado about nothing

No form of CO2 use should be considered a substitute for permanent geological storage of CO2. Some forms of CO2 use, such as EOR or EGR, can constitute or contribute to necessary CO2 removal infrastructure and therefore play a role in developing CO2 storage. However, other uses such as mineralisation do not appear to offer any such rationale as an alternative to geological CO2 storage. This brief takes a particular look at CO2 use through mineralisation.

03/09/2015

A future CO2 economy: the case of Norway

Bellona has prepared a six-point list on how Norway can develop a CO2 economy which tackles emissions reductions nationally and simultaneously develops CCS as an industry in Europe. The report was in December 2014 sent out for consultation to around 400 Norwegian stakeholders and was in January 2015 updated according to comments from a wide academic community. Bellona recommends that the Norwegian government expands its CCS strategy with the purpose of establishing a profitable value chain for CO2 storage and CCS.

24/03/2015

Scaling the CO2 storage industry: A study and a tool

A study of the CO2 storage industry in Europe to 2050 – and a tool to measure its feasibility, the requirements and the bottlenecks.

10/11/2014

Bellona Europa response to the stakeholder consultation on Emission Trading System (ETS) post-2020 carbon leakage provisions

Carbon leakage is a term used to describe situations where, as a result of costs incurred from the implementation of climate policies, certain businesses relocate production to countries with less stringent (or no) climate policies in place. The European Commission has carried out a public consultation on the different options for a system to avoid carbon leakage after 2020 for sectors covered by the EU ETS. The results of this consultation will feed into further work on the 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework regarding the determination of post-2020 rules on free allocation and carbon leakage provisions in the EU ETS. Bellona’s views and recommendations are outlined in this response.

04/08/2014

Bellona Europa response to the CCS Directive Review Survey

Five years after the European Commission passed the CCS Directive, it requires review to assess whether it still provides adequate regulatory framework for CCS in the EU. Article 38 of the Directive calls for an evaluation of its effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and added value - Bellona's views on which are outlined in this response.

24/07/2014

Solving the climate puzzle with CCS

A brochure for policy-makers that outlines the variety of roles CCS plays in tackling climate change.

22/05/2014

Ensuring energy supply security in Europe with CCS

The development and deployment of CCS technologies in Europe is imperative should Europe utilise its largest indigenous energy source.

12/05/2014

Biomass with CO2 Capture and Storage (Bio-CCS), the way forward for Europe

Bellona is a Steering Committee member of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBTP). In addition to this, the EBTP and the ZEP (Zero Emissions ...

07/04/2014

Ukraine CCS: Ukrainian perspectives on industry and energy security

Ukraine is a country in the middle of a turbulent transition toward developing energy sources free from Russian influence. Bellona has identified that...

17/02/2014

The Bellona Foundation’s Response to the European Commission’s Consultative Communication on CCS

Bellona submitted its response the European Commission’s Consultative Communication on CCS, outlining the necessary steps which need to be taken for C...

02/07/2013

CCS Market Incentives Report

The CCS Market Incentives Report has been prepared by the Bellona Foundation to fuel the debate on ways to incentivize CO2 Capture and Storage in the ...

18/04/2013

Our future is carbon negative: A CCS roadmap for Romania

This report has been published by the Bellona Foundation to fuel the debate in Romania on how to meet its emission and energy challenge. The report sh...

21/06/2012

The Power of Choice: A CCS Roadmap for Hungary

This publication was prepared by the Bellona Foundation to fuel the debate in Hungary on how to meet its emission and energy challenges. By studying t...

02/05/2012

Insuring Energy Independance – A CCS Roadmap for Poland

This publication has been prepared by the Bellona Foundation to fuel the debate in Poland on how to meet its emission and energy challenge. It is the ...

24/03/2011

Improving the Regulatory Framework, optimizing organization of the CCS value chain and ﬁnancial incentives for CO2-EOR in Europe

The article is a result of scientific work in the ECCO project, a project which received funding from the European Community`s Seventh Framework Progr...

08/12/2010

A bridge to a greener Greece – a realistic assessment of CCS potential

This report aims at identifying three possible pathways Greece may take to respond to its emission mitigation challenge through 2050. Unless the price of carbon remains at today’s levels, an unlikely prospect given current EU policy, CCS will become a major contributor to Greece’s efforts to meet its energy demands while at the same time attaining its climate policy targets.

28/11/2010

CCS in the Nordic countries in a renewable/climate neutral future (2050)

The study looks at the role and possible contribution of CCS in a 2050 renewable/CO2 neutral Nordic region, with the total energy perspective in mind...

16/09/2010

Why CCS now

This publication explains why capture and geological storage of CO2 is a necessary tool to combat global warming. ...

05/12/2009

Guidelines for public consultation and participation in CCS projects

The purpose of the guidelines is to set out preliminary recommendations for the development of safe and effective projects. They are directed towards ...

16/11/2009

Amines Used in CO2 Capture – Health and Environmental Impacts

Recommendations for how amines can be used for CO2 capture with minimal risk for environmental impacts

15/09/2009

CCS mapping in nine EU Member States in 2009 – Final reports

Bellona Europa has carried out a screening of the status and potential for CCS implementation in in nine EU Member States. Below you can download the ...

01/08/2009

CCS: Implementation of EU ETS New Entrant Reserve Funding

Recommendations for how the European Commission can perform its comitology process for financing CCS demonstration projects

30/04/2009

Energy Infrastructure with CO2 Capture and Storage

Study of how electricity prices will be influenced by short or long distances for CO2transport. ...

31/01/2009

Burying CO2: The New EU Directive on Geological Storage of CO2 from a Norwegian Perspectice

The purpose of this study is to analyse the legal framework established by the Directive on geological storage of CO2 in order to anticipate some of t...

16/01/2009

Bellona Position Paper on CCS and Emission Performance Standards (EPS)

This paper argues that the regulations and incentives neccessary to make CCS commercially viable by 2020 are: (1) adaptation of regulations that allow...

01/12/2008

Paying for a Decent Burial – Funding Options for an EU Program for Full-scale Demonstration of CO2 Capture and Storage

The EU is planning to build 10-12 demonstration projects for CCS. This report analyzes different funding options for the demonstration projects. ...

11/11/2008

Why CCS is an Important Strategy to Reduce Global CO2 Emissions

The objective of this paper is to discuss different options for reducing global CO2 emissions. Furthermore, a strategy for achieving 50 to 80 percent ...

01/06/2007

CO2 Storage: Case Study on the Sleipner Gas field in Norway

Bellona has published the report “Carbon Dioxide Storage: Geological Security and Environmental Issues – Case Study on the Sleipner Gas field in...

01/05/2007

A Proposal of Regulatory Framework for Carbon Dioxide Storage in Geological Formations

This paper is part of the efforts initiated by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) which outlines the attributes that an effective regula...

01/01/2007

Criteria for Intermediate Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Geological Formations

This paper investigates the criteria and possibilities of intermediate storage of CO2 in geological formations aiming at large scale implementation of...

01/10/2006

News related to focus area

All news

Bellona’s agenda for COP28

Bellona’s events Sunday, 3 December 12:00 – 12:45: Bursting Barriers for Solution Stories: How Industry is Growing Support for Clim...

29/11/2023

Press release: Parliament given strong negotiating mandates on CRCF and NZIA

Today the European Parliament voted in plenary on a variety of crucial climate files, including the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) and the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA). These votes send strong signals on the need for coherent climate policy which supports and manages the deployment of Carbon Dioxide Removal and Carbon Capture and Storage in an environmentally robust way.

21/11/2023

Press Release: Bellona’s presence at COP28 – Storytelling for Action Pavilion

We’re excited to share that we will be present at COP28! The Bellona Foundation will be hosting the Storytelling for Action Pavilion in the Blue Zone alongside BAFTA albert, Futerra and Think-Film Impact Production.

21/11/2023

Open Letter: Urgent Call to Action – Ensure the Net Zero Industry Act CO2 Storage Injection Capacity Target protects EU industrial decarbonisation efforts and a Just Transition for All

Safeguarding the chapters on CCS in the NZIA are crucial, so says the 23 co-signatories to our letter sent to EU Member States and European Parliament. The NZIA is a golden opportunity to ensure appropriate development of much-needed CO2 storage capacity, enabling industrial decarbonisation and a Just Transition by the retention of important welfare-carrying jobs in the harder-to-abate sector, while at the same time ensuring the proportionate contribution of Oil and Gas companies.

08/11/2023