The Negative Emissions Platform (NEP) is a Brussels-based partnership of European and international organisations focused on carbon removals. Our members are primarily technology companies, but also include project developers, investors, carbon marketplaces, and buyers of carbon removals. We provide a forum in which diverse like-minded organisations actively collaborate to improve political and public recognition of carbon removals.

Research, development, and innovation support is now needed to advance a suite of carbon removal technologies, ensuring that the European Union has a pipeline of captured and permanently stored carbon ready when demand materialises.

1. Firstly, we would like to summarise the critical role of research, development, and innovation support in advancing carbon removal technologies.

The carbon dioxide removal (CDR) sector encompasses a broad set of technologies at varying stages of development, spanning a range of technology readiness levels (TRL). Key components, including innovative sorbents, high-efficiency carbon capture, compression modules, energy management, sustainable feedstock, production processes, and advanced monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems, are fundamentally deep-tech innovations.

Urgent RD&I support is needed to build the supply of durable CDR units that will be required within the next five years. Emerging policies (EU ETS integration of CDR, 2040 climate targets), regulations (Carbon Removal Certification Framework, Green Claims Directive), and standards (ISO, SBTi net-zero rules) are set to drive demand for high-integrity, long-permanence removals with low risk of reversal. Currently, the removal capacity in the EU is not in line with the net-zero pathway. CDR company representatives cite lack of capital and lack of policy certainty as the most urgent challenges.

Advancing CDR technologies up the TRL ladder and towards commercial scale deployment requires a mix of policy instruments. On the supply side, targeted subsidies and public procurement are essential to accelerate technological improvements and drive down costs. On the demand side, incentives need to stimulate uptake and create a viable market. Both supply-push incentives for technology readiness and demand-pull incentives to enable markets are required simultaneously.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) plays a pivotal role in filling a critical gap in research, development and innovation support. By supporting engineering breakthroughs, the EIC can contribute to building a pipeline of high-integrity removals ready when demand materialises over the coming years. This strategic positioning strengthens Europe’s industrial competitiveness and ensures the EU remains at the forefront of technology innovation.

Overall, the emerging carbon removal industry will be indispensable for both safeguarding the competitiveness of Europe’s legacy industries and scaling the next generation of clean-tech solutions with employment benefits. The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) confirms that negative emissions are essential for realising net zero and economic opportunities in the EU. For instance, modelling results suggest that the carbon removal sector has the potential to generate up to 180,000 jobs across Europe by 2035, based on scenarios aligned with limiting global warming to below 2°C or 1.5°C. This job creation would be driven by the expansion of CDR technologies and the growth of supporting services and infrastructure.

2. Secondly, we would like to address some specific questions related to the topic.

1. What is the investment and business case for carbon removal? What are the expected market needs from the public sector? What are the expected market needs from the private sector?

Overall, the ESABCC projects the need for negative emissions in the European Union between 465-501 MtCO₂e in 2040 and 544-568 MtCO₂e per year by 2050 (Table 1; ESABCC, 2025; ESABCC, 2023). The investment case for CDR is driven by forthcoming regulatory clarity, compliance policies, and updated corporate climate target standards. These developments are expected to generate significant demand for high-integrity CDR in the coming years. This demand could lead to a supply shortfall in carbon removal credits of up to 50% by 2030, if necessary investments are not made today (see World Business Council, 2024; BCG, 2024; McKinsey, 2023).

From a policy perspective, the EU’s 2040 climate targets, the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF), and the integration of certified removal units into the EU ETS, along with additional potential compliance policies, are expected to further drive demand for CDR.

Carbon removal certificates are expected to play an increasingly important role in the context of the ETS, as the emissions cap continues to decline and compliance costs are projected to increase up to EUR 160 by 2030 according to simulations (Pahle et al., The Emerging Endgame: The EU ETS on the Road Towards Climate Neutrality, 2023).

Additionally, the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) standards and the ISO Net Zero Guidelines are expected to be revised this year, which will likely create demand for durable, verified CDR units on voluntary markets.

The Clean Industrial Deal states that “the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy will build the business case for these permanent carbon removals to compensate for residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors.” However, to meet this ambition, supply-side support is crucial to jump-start the sector and place it on the required growth trajectory.

2. How does CDR fit within the EIC’s investment and innovation framework?

CDR technologies, particularly those at TRLs 1-6, require early-stage research, development, and innovation support to de-risk venture investment. As is typical for deep-tech, removal technologies are capital-intensive and dependent on scientific discovery and engineering expertise, making them high-barrier projects with intense development cycles. Without grant support, the green premium puts these projects at a disadvantage compared to other technologies, despite their significant climatic and economic impacts. Early-stage public funding is essential to overcome this market failure, as demonstrated by the EU’s support for clean hydrogen and battery storage technologies in their formative stages.

The EIC has a significant role to play in addressing this gap. The grant amounts of up to EUR 4 million in the Pathfinder and EUR 2.5 million in the Accelerator are a lifeline for many CDR projects. The prospect of combining these grants with co-investments of up to EUR 10 million through the Trusted Investor Network would strongly align with the Series A/B funding that projects depend on. It would reinforce the industry’s ‘Invest in Carbon Removals’ initiative, a globally coordinated effort to engage growth and institutional investors in carbon removals. In this way, the EIC could catalyse breakthrough innovations, leading to more efficient and effective removal technologies both on land and in the ocean.

Currently, RD&I funding support for CDR is insufficient and often lumped together with other technologies, typically limited to carbon capture and storage (CCS), and fragmented. To address this challenge, the ESABCC recommends expanding Horizon Europe, including the EIC, and the Innovation Fund to support CDR technologies at the levels that are urgently required.

3. Are there European investors currently willing to invest in CDR companies?

On one hand, there is growing interest from European investors in CDR companies. Climate-impact-oriented investors, such as Carbon Removal Partners, Clima Now and Counteract, alongside business angels and philanthropies, are already invested in the diverse range of companies represented by the Negative Emissions Platform, as well as the German and French Associations for Carbon Removal. These investors have played a pioneering role in building the first generation of bankable CDR firms, taking high-risk positions to support deep-tech innovation in the EU. They are also actively mobilising their peers through the ‘Invest in Carbon Removals’ initiative to broaden the network of investors and grow portfolios of CDR technologies that are needed to reach the required capacity of negative emissions in the EU.

On the other hand, however, there remains a significant gap in access to both commercial and public funding. Many commercial investors are still cautious, citing uncertain market signals and technology risks. Policy certainty and public co-funding are thus essential to de-risk early-stage investments. This presents an opportunity for the EIC to bridge the funding divide at the EUR 2.5-12.5 million ticket size (including co-investments) which for many entrepreneurs represents the crucial missing middle between early seed rounds and later-stage venture capital. By leveraging its grants and co-investment schemes, the EIC can play a crucial role to crowd in additional capital in Europe’s carbon removal ecosystem.

4. What are the specific deep tech needs of the CDR sector?

The CDR sector requires fundamental breakthroughs in science and engineering which are capital, labour, and time intense. Several deep tech areas need to be developed to accelerate the sector’s growth and deployment.

Core technologies: A critical need lies in advancing efficient carbon capture absorbents and adsorbents, used in several applications, such as DACCS, point-source capture of biogenic CO₂ in Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR) and BECCS, and direct ocean capture, to make them scalable and cost competitive. Moreover, advancing energy efficiency in DACCS (input), BECCS and BCR (output) are essential to further improve performance and reduce operational costs. Additionally, the production of long-lasting bio-based products needs further research and engineering to enhance sequestration potentials. Processing breakthroughs are required to advance enhanced rock weathering, ocean alkalinity enhancement and in-situ mineralization, speeding up natural carbon sequestration processes, as well as industrial applications such as sequestering mineralised carbon in long-lasting products, construction and demolition waste, like concrete.

MRV: The sector requires significant advancement in MRV technologies to ensure transparency and high-integrity removals. Big data in data collection and monitoring, satellite monitoring and remote sensing, and AI-driven data validation and analytics combined with interoperable market infrastructure are expected to be essential for tracking, verifying, and optimising carbon removals rigorously. These tools will support compliance with voluntary and regulatory standards such as the CRCF methodologies, the SBTi or ISO guidelines.

Infrastructure: Building blocks for the required CO₂ transport and storage networks include energy-efficient pressurising processes to improve performance and reduce operational costs, ensuring that captured carbon can be efficiently stored or used. In addition, infrastructure for transporting and storing carbon in a non-gaseous form needs attention, e.g. from scaling biochar storage in agriculture and construction. Moreover, energy grid management to handle intermittency in energy supply from wind and solar power will be essential for ensuring the consistent availability of energy for CDR processes like DAC, direct ocean capture, ocean alkalinity enhancement, and enhanced rock weathering technologies. These developments will enable CDR technologies to be deployed on a larger scale.