EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities for HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-27

1. Single Market Access

- Uniform market of 450 + million consumers enables rapid commercial roll-out of CO₂-derived fuels, chemicals and polymers without multiple national certification rounds.

- The forthcoming Single Market for Green Products allows one Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) label to cover all 27 Member States.

- Pan-European off-take agreements (e.g. e-kerosene for airlines) can be negotiated in euros, reducing currency risk and increasing bankability.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration

- Multinational consortia can optimise the value chain by situating capture, purification, conversion and end-use where each is most competitive (e.g. renewable power in Iberia, chemical clusters in Benelux).

- Access to European research infrastructures such as ECCSEL (CCUS) and pilot lines under the Vanguard Initiative lowers R&D cost.

- Knowledge exchange is accelerated through ERA-NETs, the European Cluster Collaboration Platform and Horizon Missions on Climate-Neutral Cities and Oceans.

3. EU Policy Alignment

- Directly supports the European Green Deal and Fit-for-55 objectives by substituting fossil carbon and advancing industrial decarbonisation.

- Contributes to REPowerEU by cutting dependence on imported fossil hydrocarbons, strengthening strategic autonomy.

- Fits the Circular Economy Action Plan and Sustainable Carbon Cycles Communication, paving the way for a potential 20 % non-fossil carbon quota in chemicals by 2030.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation

- A single REACH registration and CE-marking process significantly reduce compliance costs versus 27 separate national schemes.

- EU ETS Phase IV rules provide harmonised accounting for transferred CO₂, avoiding double counting in cross-border projects.

- The upcoming EU framework for carbon-removal certification offers an integrated market for negative-emission credits.

5. Innovation Ecosystem

- Access to 3,000+ European universities and research organisations, plus Key Digital & Industry Areas (KDT-JU, EIT InnoEnergy, etc.).

- Collaboration with EIT InnoEnergy and Net-Zero Industry Valleys accelerators delivers mentorship and additional equity financing.

- Participation in EU skills initiatives (Pact for Skills – Chemicals) secures trained operators for scale-up.

6. Funding Synergies

- Innovation Fund can cover up to 60 % CAPEX for the first-of-a-kind plant after Horizon demonstration.

- ERDF and Just Transition Fund can finance regional CO₂ transport and renewable-energy infrastructure in eligible regions.

- InvestEU loan guarantees and EIB Green Bonds reduce cost of capital for commercial deployment.

- CEF Energy can support cross-border CO₂ pipeline corridors; LIFE Clean Energy can fund integration with renewable hydrogen.

7. Scale and Impact Potential

- EU industrial hubs emit > 200 Mt CO₂ / year; utilising only 10 % could replace up to 25 % of fossil naphtha imports.

- Deployment in port areas (Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges, Hamburg) leverages existing logistics for feedstock and product distribution.

- The EU market for CO₂-based chemicals and fuels could reach €45 bn by 2030, creating an estimated 150,000 skilled jobs across Member States.

8. Strategic Value at EU Level

- Diversifies political and regulatory risk by spreading activities across multiple Member States.

- Builds a European carbon-management value chain, reducing reliance on third-country hydrocarbons and critical raw materials.

- Positions Europe as a global standards setter for CO₂ utilisation technologies, boosting export opportunities for EU equipment manufacturers.

9. Actionable Consortium Tips

- Form a consortium covering at least seven Member States, including: CO₂-capture providers, renewable-power suppliers, catalysis/electro-conversion experts, downstream users (chemicals, aviation, polymers), LCA/standardisation bodies and digital-process SMEs.

- Secure letters of intent from EU airlines, shipping companies and polymer converters to demonstrate market pull within the Single Market.

- Map sequential financing: Horizon grant → Innovation Fund → InvestEU/EIB project finance.

- Engage early with CEN/TC 467 and ISO TC 265 to feed project data into upcoming EU standards for CCU.