Carbon Dioxide Infrastructure: Antitrust Regulatory Body Approves Two Significant Pipeline Initiatives - Approval Granted for Two Significant CO2 Pipeline Projects by the Office
Germany is taking significant strides to advance its carbon dioxide (CO₂) pipeline infrastructure as part of its carbon capture and storage (CCS) strategy, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Two major CO₂ pipeline projects, led by Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE), in collaboration with ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH and Belgian company Fluxys, have recently been approved by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office in Bonn. These projects, with an investment scale in the high double-digit billion range, aim to enhance Germany’s CCS capabilities by transporting CO₂ from sources such as waste incineration, lime, and cement production to storage sites.
The first major project involves a cooperation between OGE and ONTRAS, planning an export pipeline from emission-intensive regions to potential export locations. The exact location in Germany for the pipeline section handled by ONTRAS and OGE has not been disclosed. The second project is a cooperation between OGE and Fluxys, planning a pipeline system from western and southern Germany to the German-Belgian border, with Fluxys planning a CO₂ transit pipeline through Belgium to Zeebrugge.
In addition to these projects, Germany’s cabinet has approved an ambitious reform bill to fast-track CCS infrastructure development. The law classifies CO₂ capture, transport, and storage projects as being in the “overriding public interest,” enabling streamlined approvals and land acquisition rights for CO₂ pipeline construction. The law allows for CO₂ storage both offshore under the North Sea seabed (with Germany having an estimated storage potential between 1.5 and 8.3 billion tons of CO₂) and inland with state approval. It also permits converting existing natural gas pipelines for CO₂ transport, reducing the demand for entirely new infrastructure.
The law explicitly supports CCS for hard-to-abate sectors and for gas-fired power plants, but it excludes CCS and CO₂ transport from coal-fired power plants to avoid incentivizing coal use. There are also provisions to ensure CCS infrastructure does not adversely impact renewable energy projects such as offshore wind farms or hydrogen pipelines.
A 28-kilometer pipeline in Schleswig-Holstein is the most advanced project, planned to transport carbon dioxide from a cement works in Lägerdorf to Brunsbüttel, and expected to go into operation in 2029. This pipeline will ship carbon dioxide to storage sites, with the carbon dioxide pipelines being part of efforts to store carbon dioxide underground or in the seabed in the long term.
These developments mark a critical advance toward establishing a comprehensive CO₂ transport pipeline network and storage infrastructure in Germany, aligned with the country’s climate neutrality goals. The Federal Cartel Office has confirmed that there are no competition concerns regarding the two specific CO₂ pipeline cooperation projects.
- Germany's ambitious reform bill, supportive of carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure, classifies CO₂ capture, transport, and storage projects as being in the "overriding public interest," enhancing the streamlined approvals and land acquisition rights for CO₂ pipeline construction.
- The approved CO₂ pipeline projects, led by Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE), in collaboration with ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH and Fluxys, aim to bolster Germany's CCS capabilities by transporting CO₂ from industries such as waste incineration, lime, and cement production to storage sites, contributing to Germany's climate-change mitigation efforts and pursuit of carbon neutrality.
- The Germany-Belgium border CO₂ pipeline project, a collaboration between OGE and Fluxys, will facilitate the transportation of CO₂ from western and southern Germany to Zeebrugge, Belgium, integrating environmental-science research into industry practices for climate-change management and encouraging the adoption of finance, energy, and science-based solutions for the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.
