Carbon capture and storage project in CEE comes to close

After three years of work, the CCS4CEE project, focused on enhancing long-term carbon capture and storage deployment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), has been brought to a close. The project was co-led by Civitta.

Civitta, a Baltic-origin consulting firm with 20 offices across Europe, played a role in this carbon capture and storage scheme, which was deployed in Central and Eastern Europe. Other organizations in the consortium included WiseEuropa, the Energy Policy Group, the Institute for European Integration, and expertise partner Bellona.

Throughout the lifespan of the project, Civitta provided counsel on the project’s runnings, and took the lead in analytical work in the Baltic states and in Ukraine. The firm was also responsible for expert knowledge and capability transfer.

Some parts of the project were aimed at Ukraine, which saw devastating changes after the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022. One assessment was carried out before the war broke out and one after.

The assessments showed that certain sectors of Ukraine’s industrial economy – like metal production, power generation, and chemicals – contribute a significant amount of CO2 emissions. Besides those baseline emissions, the war, has also sadly caused a dramatic uptick in emissions and has been a terrible blow to the country’s economy.

The CCS4CEE project was implemented in several distinct phases. The first step was to determine the potential for technological options, policy landscape in Europe, and national contexts. Afterwards, the project developed national roadmaps, which were then implemented through networking and capacity-building events.

The project had to assess the possibilities of transportation, underground storage, and other options related with carbon storage. These and other considerations had to be balanced with the European legislative and policy environment, while also considering public opinion.

“In the Baltic states, the conversation volume about carbon capture and storage deployment in the public media has been low. However, during these last few years, which coincidentally overlap with the CCS4CCE project, the quality of conversation has shifted,” said Ervinas Škikūnas, associate partner at Civitta.

“Our project made it much easier for stakeholders to come together, in person or online, and discuss CCS-related issues. We advanced the collective thinking about decarbonization, which, in my opinion, is the biggest success in this project.”

“Compared to the start of this project, it is encouraging to see that we already have several projects planned in the CEE region, including activities in the Baltic states. However, it is important to note that a lot more work and involvement from some key stakeholders is necessary to move this topic forward,” said Valts Ulmanis, senior consultant at Civitta.

The CCS4CEE project was a collaborative effort funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation.

Looking ahead, the momentum in carbon capture technology in Europe – thanks in part to this major project – is likely to continue. The continent is working towards an ambitious decarbonisation agenda, with carbon capture seen as an important element of the mix alongside greener energy generation and more efficient use of energy sources.