Important CO₂ Infrastructure Projects Designated as PCIs

The European Commission has designated two major CO₂ infrastructure initiatives—the OGE CO₂ Transport Network and the Delta Rhine Corridor—as Projects of Common Interest (PCI). The OGE CO₂ Transport Network aims to build a nationwide pipeline system connecting industrial clusters and cross-border links, capable of transporting several million tonnes of CO₂ per year in the future. The Delta Rhine Corridor—a joint project by Gasunie, OGE, Shell and BASF—will establish a new connection between industrial centers in Germany and the Port of Rotterdam and will combine CO₂ transport with pipelines for hydrogen and other energy carriers going forward.

Projects designated as PCIs benefit from accelerated permitting and implementation procedures. The new list comprises 235 projects in total, including numerous CO₂ and hydrogen initiatives through which the EU aims to drive the transformation of the energy system. Seventeen of these projects focus on CO₂ transport and storage. With this, the EU is creating a clear framework for expanding the technical and regulatory infrastructure for CO₂ across Europe. In parallel, the Commission is conducting a public consultation on the design of a regulated market for CO₂ transport and storage. The goal is to enhance investment certainty and facilitate the development of a Europe-wide CO₂ infrastructure.

Carbon management is essential because many industrial processes—such as those in the cement, lime, steel, and chemical industries—will continue to generate unavoidable process-related emissions that cannot be fully eliminated, even through efficiency measures or renewable energy. Without capturing and safely storing this CO₂, Germany and Europe cannot meet their climate targets. At the same time, carbon management helps secure long-term industrial value creation and jobs, maintaining the competitiveness of industrial regions. A crucial prerequisite is the rapid development of a high-performing CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure that provides companies with investment and planning certainty, thereby enabling the industrial transformation in the first place.