REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on Implementation of Directive 2009/31/EC on the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide
Date: 2023-10-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU environmental policy, application of EU law, carbon capture and storage, energy storage, environmental impact, greenhouse gas, reduction of gas emissions

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.10.2023  COM(2023) 657 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on Implementation of Directive 2009/31/EC on the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE 
COUNCIL 

on Implementation of Directive 2009/31/EC on the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide 

1.  INTRODUCTION 
Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of 
carbon dioxide1 (the Carbon Capture and Storage Directive, or CCS Directive) establishes a legal 
framework  for  the  environmentally  safe  geological  storage  of  carbon  dioxide  (CO2).  The  CCS 
Directive aims to ensure that there is no significant risk of CO2 leakage or damage to health or the 
environment, and to prevent any adverse effects on the security of the transport network or storage 
sites.  

This  report  constitutes  the  fourth  implementation  report  on  the  CCS  Directive  and  covers  the 
period of May 2019 - April 2023. It analyses progress made since the third implementation report2. 
It is based on the reports submitted by Member States to the European Commission, and by the 
EEA EFTA States Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA)3, 
in accordance with Article 27 of the CCS Directive. Twenty-five countries4 submitted reports in 
time to be considered in this report. 

2.  SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES IN THE MEMBER STATES 

2.1 Change, reviews and updates to national implementation legislation 

Since the third implementation report, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, France, Lithuania, Hungary, 
Finland, Sweden  and  Iceland  have  reported  changes  to  their legislation  implementing  the CCS 
Directive.  These  changes  include  opening  areas  for  storage,  establishing  permitting  procedures 
and designating competent authorities.  

After  allowing  exploration  and  research  projects  since  2015,  since  2021  Iceland  has  allowed 
industrial-scale geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) on its territory. Hungary has laid down 
detailed rules for geological structures suitable for storing carbon dioxide.  

Denmark has established legislation to open certain areas to continuous granting of permits for 
exploration  and  storage  of  carbon  dioxide,  designating  the  national  permitting  authority  and 
enabling state participation in every storage permit. Greece has designated the competent authority 

1 Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide 
and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 
2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114-135   
2 COM(2019) 566, Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Implementation 
of Directive 2009/31/EC on the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide 
3 Forthcoming report by the EFTA Surveillance Authority under the CCS Directive for the EEA EFTA States 
4 Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Cyprus, Lithuania, 
Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, 
Liechtenstein, Norway 

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and established permitting procedures for economic operators with existing rights for hydrocarbon 
exploration and production in the relevant areas. 

France  has  specified  and  simplified  the  procedures  for  the  necessary  environmental  impact 
assessments in the context of exploration or storage permits. Finland gives priority to CCS projects 
in environmental permitting. Bulgaria and Sweden have clarified the way they implement the post-
closure requirements set out in the Directive. Additional revisions of implementing legislation are 
ongoing in Belgium and Iceland. 

At the time of reporting, geological storage of carbon dioxide is allowed in all Member States, 
Iceland and Norway except in Germany, Estonia, Ireland5 Cyprus, Latvia6,Austria, Finland and 
Slovenia.  In  Lithuania  the  geological  storage  of  carbon  dioxide  has  been  prohibited  since  July 
2020. 

2.2 Exploration permits and storage permits 

a) Permitting process/application 

Denmark,  France,  Hungary,  the  Netherlands,  Iceland  and  Norway  have  established  processes 
through  which  storage  permit  applicants  can  engage  with  the  competent  permitting  authority. 
These  Member  States  invite  potential  applicants  to  contact  and  engage  with  the  authorities  for 
information  and  advice.  Malta  intends  to  proactively  engage  with  potential  future  applicants. 
Portugal is currently developing processes for future permit applications. Icelandic law foresees 
the  option  of  pre-consultation  as  part  of  the  environmental  impact  assessment.  Norwegian  law 
obliges Norwegian authorities to provide guidance to the parties concerned. 

b) Storage permits 

Since the third implementation report, the Netherlands is the only reporting country that has issued 
storage permits. Two permits were issued in 2021 and 2022, as part of the Porthos project, which 
will store CO2 in a depleted gas field in the North Sea. 

c) Exploration permits 

Since  the  last  implementation  report,  Denmark  has  conducted  its  first  tendering  process  for 
offshore  licenses  for  full-scale  exploration  and  storage  of  CO2  in  specific  areas  on  the  Danish 
continental shelf. Denmark has awarded three offshore exploration permits. 

Greece has issued one exploration permit for CO2 storage to explore the potential for storage at the 
Prinos complex, where the permit holder currently holds the rights to oil and gas exploration and 
production. 

Norway awarded three exploration permits in 2022, two for areas in the North Sea and one for an 
area in the Barents Sea. In 2023, Norway awarded two more exploration permits in the North Sea. 

The other reporting states have not granted any exploration permits in the reporting period and 
have not reported filed applications. 

d) Operators’ plans to apply for storage permits 

5 Information based on previous reporting. 
6 Ibid. 

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The Netherlands has notified the European Commission of three storage applications for offshore 
areas, namely for K14-FA from Shell International Exploration and Production B.V. and Shell Gas 
& Power Developments B.V., for P18-6 from TAQA Offshore B.V. and EBN CCS B.V., and L04-
A from TotalEnergies EP Nederland B.V..   

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway notify permit applications to the EFTA Surveillance Authority 
(ESA). The ESA is currently reviewing one storage permit application from Iceland and one from 
Norway. Iceland expects to receive another application in early 2024. 

The following Member States expect to receive several applications for storage permits in 2023 
and the first half of 2024: Netherlands (2-3), Greece (1), and Romania (1).  

Denmark and France expect to receive more applications in the coming years, France in early 2024 
and Denmark by 2028, depending on progress of ongoing projects. 

2.3 Selection of areas for storage sites 

Five  Member  States  report  that  they  have  determined  areas  from  which  storage  sites  may  be 
selected.  France  and  Spain  explicitly  mentioned  their  entire  territory  as  potential  storage  sites. 
Hungary,  Romania  and  Iceland  mentioned  no  specific  limitations  in  their  areas,  while  the 
Netherlands exclude onshore areas. Denmark has designated specific areas for potential geological 
storage of CO2 and is currently conducting an assessment to select up to eight additional storage 
sites. At the time of reporting, Sweden was also in the process of investigating and defining specific 
potential storage sites. Poland states that it defined storage areas in 2014 and has not defined any 
new ones since then.  

Greece  plans  to  determine  additional  areas  from  which  storage  sites  may  be  selected  and  is 
currently in the process of conducting the respective geological studies. At the time of reporting, 
Poland,  Portugal  and  Slovenia  were  at  different  stages  of  investigating  and  defining  additional 
storage sites. Czechia states that saline aquifers and partially depleted oil and gas fields would be 
available as storage sites, but only with limited capacity.  

Among countries planning to determine additional storage areas, ten prioritise specific geological 
possibilities, namely saline aquifers (CZ, DK, EL, HU, PL, PT, SE, NO), depleted hydrocarbon 
fields (CZ, EL, PL, RO) or mafic rock formations (EL, PT, IS). 

The  Netherlands  and  Romania  are  the  only  reporting  countries  where  certain  areas  do  not 
necessarily  require  an  exploration  permit  to  generate  the  information  necessary  for  selecting 
storage sites. This concerns CO2 storage in depleted oil or gas fields, which do not require new 
exploration  activities,  because  the  existing  data  is  considered  sufficient.  In  all  other  reporting 
countries,  exploration  permits  are  required  for  all  companies  to  generate  the  necessary  subsoil 
information. 

Six Member States (Czechia, Denmark, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Romania) as well as 
Iceland report that there is or will be information available to citizens about environmental and/or 
health  risks  relating  to  the  geological  storage  of  CO2.  In  the  Netherlands  and  Romania  such 
information  will  be  made  available  to  the  public  together  with  the  respective  applications  for 
permits. In 2023, France carried out a public consultation on its initial strategic guidelines to guide 
the deployment of Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation (CCUS) technologies.  

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2.4 Third-party fair and open access 

At  the  time  of  reporting,  no  reporting  country  is  aware  of  prospective  transport  and/or  storage 
operators refusing access to their facilities on grounds of lack of capacity. Nevertheless, several 
reporting countries have procedures in place to ensure that potential users are able to obtain fair 
and open access to transport networks and storage sites. There are legislative measures for that 
purpose  in  place  in  Belgium,  Denmark,  Germany,  France,  the  Netherlands,  Austria,  Poland, 
Portugal, Slovenia, Iceland and Norway. 

2.5 Cross-border cooperation 

The locations of initial geological CO2 storage opportunities and hard-to-abate energy intensive 
industries that could capture CO2 emissions are not evenly distributed among Member States and 
EEA  countries.  This  requires  cross-border  cooperation  as  regards  CO2  transport  and/or  storage 
sites. 

Several reporting countries have supported in total 18 applications for Projects of Common Interest 
(PCI)  or  Projects  of  Mutual  Interest  (PMI)  covering  cross-border  CO2  transport,  in  accordance 
with the revised TEN-E Regulation7 (BE, DK, DE, ES, FR, HR, LV, LT, HU, NL, PL, SE, NO).  

Belgium and Denmark reported an ongoing cross-border project where CO2 captured in Belgium 
is transported to Denmark for storage. The Netherlands reported on the ongoing ARAMIS PCI, 
which aims to import CO2 for storage in the Netherlands.  

Belgium reports several ongoing transnational transport and storage projects. Croatia and Hungary 
are preparing a project for transporting CO2 for storage in Croatia. Lithuania (2) and Poland (1) 
supported applications of projects to be awarded the Projects of Common Interest status. Swedish 
companies that plan to capture CO2 are in contact with storage operators in Norway and Denmark. 
In Iceland, the Coda Terminal project aims to import captured CO2 for geological storage and is 
supported by the ETS Innovation Fund.  

Three Member States that are party to the international 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the 
Prevention  of  Maritime  Pollution  by  Dumping  of  Waste  and  Other  Matter,  1972  (“London 
protocol”)  –  Belgium,  Denmark  and  the  Netherlands  –  have  signed  joint  Memoranda  of 
Understanding  on  the  cross-border  transportation  of  CO2  between  them  with  the  purpose  of 
geological storage.  

These Memoranda of Understanding have been limited to residual issues that are not covered by 
EU law, such as  cooperation between the responsible permitting  authorities. Directive 2009/31 
and Directive 2003/87 are the applicable legal framework in place in the European Economic Area 
for the capture, cross-border transport and safe geological storage of carbon dioxide between EU 
Member States and the EEA.  

Accordingly,  any  operator  of  CO2  transport  networks  and/or  CO2  storage  sites  enjoys  the  full 
benefit of the EU legal framework to import or export captured CO2. The implemented EU legal 
framework8 acts as the relevant “arrangement” between the Parties in the meaning of Art. 6(2) of 

7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2022.152.01.0045.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2022%3A152%3ATOC 
8 The EEA treaty and the incorporation of the two directives concerned in the EEA legal regime provides the 
necessary arrangement with EEA partners. 

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the  London  Protocol,  given  the  substantive  alignment  with  the  requirements  of  the  London 
Protocol.9  

2.6 National and international programmes and research projects 

A majority of reporting countries (BE, DK, DE, ES, FR, LT, NL, PT, RO, SI, FI SE, IS, NO) have 
national  operational  programmes  or  plans  in  place  to  support  research,  demonstration  and 
deployment  of  carbon  capture  and  storage.  Most  of  these  programmes  are  not  exclusively 
dedicated to carbon capture and storage. 

Seven  reporting  countries  have  measures/programmes  in  place  to  financially  support  the 
development or deployment of CCS. These countries are Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France,  
the Netherlands, Slovenia and Norway. Greece and Sweden plan such support.  

16 Member States (BE, DK, DE, EE, EL, ES, FR, LT, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, FI, SE) are 
involved  in  ongoing  national  or  European  research  projects  that  address  topics  relevant  for 
implementing  the  Directive,  such  as  ENCASE10  (funded  via  the  Horizon  Europe  programme), 
SHARP  and  RETURN  (funded  via  the  ERA-NET  ACT  (Accelerating  CCS  Technologies))11, 
CCS4CEE12,  and  PilotSTRATEGY13.  Member  States  involved  in  such  projects  are  Belgium, 
Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, 
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Finland, and Sweden. 

Beyond  these  projects,  ten  Member  States  report  that  they  have  further  plans  to  support  the 
appraisal of CO2 storage sites, to prepare for CO2 transport infrastructure or for the establishment 
of CO2 hubs and clusters. These Member States are Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, 
Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. Those plans are at different stages of 
development. 

2.7 CO2 capture readiness 
Pursuant to Article 9a of Directive 2001/80/EC14, when an operator applies for a license to run a 
combustion  plant  with  a  rated  electrical  output  of  300  megawatts  or  more,  it  has  to  assess  the 
technical and economic feasibility of carbon capture, transport and storage. If the assessment is 
positive, space on the installation site must be set aside for the equipment necessary to capture and 
compress CO2. 

Only Belgium, Germany and Poland have combustion plants with a rated electrical output of 300 
MW  or  more  that  have  received  a  permit  since  the  last  implementation  report.  At  the  time  of 

9 To transport CO2 from one Member State to another within the European Economic Area, Member States that are 
parties to the London Protocol are still required to first deposit with the London Protocol Secretariat a formal 
declaration of provisional application of the 2009 amendment to the London Protocol, even if there are no additional 
issues to cover. Therefore, there is no need to sign a bilateral agreement or arrangement. 
10 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101094664 
11 http://www.act-ccs.eu/ 
12 https://ccs4cee.eu/ 
13 https://pilotstrategy.eu/about-the-project 
14 Directive 2001/80/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of 
emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants 

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reporting, there have been five such plants in planning in Belgium, four of which plan to set aside 
space for a possible retrofit of carbon capture technology. 

In Poland, there are eight such power plants, four of which were planned or under construction, 
and four of which were operational at the time of reporting. All these plants have set aside or plan 
to set aside a specific area for installing CO2 capture facilities. 

In Germany, two such power plants have received a permit since the last report. The plants became 
operational  in  2020  and  2022,  respectively,  and  both  have  set  aside  areas  for  retrofitting  CO2 
capture facilities. In Lithuania, one such power plant has received a permit since the last report.  

2.8. Other 

The European Commission financially supports projects for capturing 4.6 million tonnes of CO2 
annually  and  has  selected  several  projects  representing  a  further  5.8  million  tonnes  of  CO2  for 
grant agreements under the ETS Innovation Fund for permanent storage in the EEA15. Since the 
last implementation report, projects that have applied to the ETS Innovation Fund have planned to 
capture  more  than  20  million  tonnes  of  CO2,  underlining  the  urgent  need  and  the  market 
opportunity to develop CO2 storage sites in accordance with the CCS Directive in the European 
Economic Area.     

3.  CONCLUSIONS 

The CCS Directive has been correctly applied across the reporting period in the EU Member States, 
which had submitted reports to the Commission by the end of July 2023. 

Since the third implementation report in 2019, considerable progress has been reported regarding 
the deployment of CO2 storage sites notably but not only in the North Sea region in the form of 
awarded  (or  soon  to  be  awarded)  exploration  permits,  which  are  an  important  step  towards  a 
storage permit.  

EU Member States and Norway continue to support or plan to support in the near future, through 
their national programmes or funds, research and demonstration activities on CCS. Furthermore, 
many countries  are involved in  a number of European research and collaborative projects. The 
European Commission supports capture and storage of carbon dioxide with the ETS Innovation 
Fund, including full value chain projects combining capture, transport and storage.  

15 https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/funding-climate-action/innovation-fund/what-innovation-fund_en 

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