The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €3 billion (SEK 36 billion) Swedish scheme to support carbon capture and storage (‘CCS’) aimed at reducing carbon dioxide (‘CO2’) released during the combustion or processing of biomass (‘biogenic CO2’). The measure will contribute to the achievement of Sweden’s climate targets and the EU’s strategic objectives under the European Green Deal, in particular the 2050 climate neutrality goal.
The Commission found that:
- The scheme is necessary and appropriate to incentivise investments in projects concerning capture and storage of biogenic CO2 in Sweden and thereby contributes to the national and EU climate targets.
- The scheme has an “incentive effect”, as potential beneficiaries would not carry out the investments in biogenic CCS projects without the public support.
- The scheme has a limited impact on competition and trade within the EU. In particular, the aid is proportionate and any negative effect on competition and trade in the EU will be limited in view of the design of the measure, which will notably ensure that the aid amount is kept to the minimum.
- The scheme will be subject to an ex-post evaluation, which will verify, among other things, the effectiveness of the competitive bidding process.
On this basis, the Commission approved the Swedish measure under EU State aid rules.
Under the scheme, the aid will be awarded through a competitive bidding process, with the first auction expected in 2024. Auctions will be open to companies that (i) carry out an activity in Sweden, emitting biogenic CO2, and (ii) implement projects with a capacity to capture and store at least 50,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 per year.
Under 15-year long contracts, beneficiaries will receive a grant per tonne of biogenic CO2 that is permanently stored. The aid received will be adjusted taking into account possible revenues that might stem from the projects (e.g., thanks to voluntary carbon removal certificates), as well as other public support received for the same project.
The scheme will run until 31 December 2028. By enabling capture and storage of significant amounts of biogenic CO2, the scheme will contribute to Sweden’s efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2045 compared to the 1990 level. It will also help Sweden and the EU to meet the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
– This €3 billion scheme will enable Sweden to capture and to permanently store a significant amount of carbon dioxide generated by biomass combustion or processing. It will help Sweden and the EU to achieve their ambitious target of climate neutrality by 2050, while ensuring that competition distortions are kept to the minimum, says Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy.
