“Storage is the bottleneck” is a common claim in European CCUS. But CaptureMap data shows a more nuanced picture.

Only about 19 mtpa of Europe’s announced storage capacity has reached FID. At the same time, commercial capture projects linked to geological storage add up to around 9.7 mtpa. This means that, at an overall European level, storage capacity that has reached FID is not clearly behind the capture volumes that need storage.

This presentation looks at how capture, transport, and storage are developing in relation to each other. It explores what this tells us about the real barriers — and opportunities — for scaling CCS in Europe.

●      The main challenge may not be total storage capacity alone. It may be more about timing, location, and how well the value chain is connected.

●      Parts of the market may now face a bigger challenge in turning announced projects into bankable, connected volumes.

●      The gap between capture ambition and transport-storage readiness differs a lot between regions and sectors.

●      Europe’s CCS scale-up will depend not only on more projects, but on better matching between emitters, infrastructure, and access to storage.