Approval Granted for Two key Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Projects by the Office
In a significant step towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, Germany is actively advancing carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline infrastructure. Open Grid Europe (OGE), the country's largest gas pipeline operator, is leading the charge, partnering with ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH and Belgian company Fluxys on two major CO2 pipeline projects.
The German cabinet recently approved a reform bill that designates CCS infrastructure projects, including CO2 pipelines and storage, as being in the "overriding public interest." This classification streamlines the planning and approval process, supports the potential conversion of existing natural gas pipelines to transport CO2, and allows authorities to acquire private land for pipeline construction with compensation.
OGE and its partners' CO2 pipelines are multi-billion-euro investments, intended to transport CO2 generated from hard-to-abate industrial sectors such as cement, lime, waste incineration, and gas power plants to storage sites. Germany's geological potential for CO2 storage is substantial, with an estimated capacity between 1.5 billion and 8.3 billion tons beneath its North Sea sector.
The most advanced of OGE's projects is a 28-kilometer pipeline in Schleswig-Holstein, intended to transport CO2 from a cement plant in Lägerdorf to Brunsbüttel. From Brunsbüttel, the greenhouse gas will be transported by ship to storage facilities. The Schleswig-Holstein pipeline is expected to be operational in 2029.
If possible, OGE plans to use the corridors of existing infrastructures to minimize interventions in nature. However, the company states that existing natural gas pipelines can only be used to a limited extent for the technical requirements of a tight CO2 transport.
OGE is also involved in another CO2 pipeline cooperation project, this time with Belgian Fluxys. The pipeline system will extend from western and southern Germany to the German-Belgian border, with Fluxys planning to build a CO2 transit pipeline through Belgium to Zeebrugge from the German-Belgian border.
The pipelines are intended to transport climate-damaging carbon dioxide produced in waste incineration, lime, and cement production. The gas will be stored underground or in the seabed in the long term.
The Federal Cartel Office is involved in the considerations for the carbon dioxide pipeline projects, with OGE having asked for guidance due to the high investment volume in the low double-digit billion range. Recently, the Bonn authority announced no competition concerns about two specific CO2 pipeline cooperation projects.
These developments reflect a strategic priority to decarbonize Germany's hardest-to-abate sectors by capturing and storing CO2 underground. The progress of these projects positions Germany to lead in the global effort towards carbon neutrality.
The German cabinet has classified CO2 pipeline and storage projects as being in the "overriding public interest," to streamline the approval process for conversion of existing natural gas pipelines to transport CO2. The German industry, including cement, lime, waste incineration, and gas power plants, will generate CO2 to be transported by OGE and its partners' multi-billion-euro pipeline projects to storage sites. OGE intends to use the corridors of existing infrastructures to minimize interventions in nature, but warns that existing natural gas pipelines can only be used to a limited extent for the technical requirements of a tight CO2 transport. The pipelines are financed with low double-digit billion range investments and are under the oversight of the Federal Cartel Office.
These developments in renewable-energy and environmental-science-focused carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects reflect a strategic priority to decarbonize Germany's hardest-to-abate sectors, positioning the country to lead in the global effort towards carbon neutrality. The long-term storage of climate-damaging carbon dioxide in such CCS projects will help achieve carbon neutrality objectives, reducing the environmental impact of various industries and contributing positively to climate-change mitigation efforts.
