Pool 4: Achieving Climate Goals through targeted CCUS Innovation
Key details
Application deadline: 28 May 2025, 12:00 noon
Project duration: Minimum one year. Projects must be concluded by 30 November 2030.
Total budget for call: Approximately DKK 70 million.
Funding per project: Minimum DKK 3 million per project. There is no maximum budget limit per project, but we expect to fund between 5 and 15 projects.
TRL levels: Between 3 and 7 (applies to projects focussing on technological development aspects)
CCUS is an essential tool in addressing climate change, and advancing solutions requires continuous research and innovation. As with previous calls, we are looking for ambitious, cross-sector research and innovation projects that bring together the most relevant expertise and stakeholders.
For this call, we have identified five specific priority areas from the Danish CCUS Roadmap, each with targeted subthemes. Projects must address one or more of these subthemes to help drive progress in critical areas of CCUS development.
The five priority areas:
Advancing CO2 capture technologies and implementation across diverse emission sources
It is crucial to improve and advance point sources capture solutions for major emitters in hard-to-abate sectors, waste incineration, bio-based energy production, and chemical processes. Research and innovation efforts should be tailored to individual emitters, as technologies and processes need to be adapted to the unique gas composition and specific operational conditions.
Subthemes to be addressed by project proposals:
- Source-specific solutions: Projects should focus on capture technologies optimized for different emissions, addressing specific challenges such as (but not limited to) varying gas compositions and operational conditions and transport and storage requirements. This could include (but is not limited to) chemical stability under varying conditions, purity requirements and standards for storage and utilization, corrosivity challenges and exploring new materials in process or infrastructure applications, or improved monitoring systems and control processes, including AI integration.
- Integration and scalability: We are looking for projects with a focus on integrating capture technologies into existing industrial processes and enhancing scalability. This could include (but is not limited to) technical and logistical challenges in moving from pilot to full-scale applications or the development of modular and adaptable systems suitable for retrofitting.
- Energy efficiency: Innovations that enhance energy efficiency of capture processes are important for reducing operational costs of capture solutions and reducing the overall carbon footprint. This could include enhancing existing methods, like amine-based absorption, and advancing alternative low-energy processes or solvents.
Achieving negative emissions through advanced technologies and nature-based solutions
Achieving a 110% reduction by 2050 requires removing at least 7.8M tons of CO2 annually from the atmosphere. A multitude of solutions and technologies is required to accomplish this. INNO-CCUS is focussing on advancing Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies, achieving scalable storage in biochar solutions, and innovative practices for maximizing carbon sequestration in natural carbon sinks like forests.
Subthemes to be addressed by project proposals:
- Direct Air Capture (DAC): DAC technologies are currently costly and energy intensive. We are looking for research and innovation projects to improve efficiency and scalability of DAC, focusing on reducing energy consumption and exploring synergies with other processes. If relevant, projects should integrate or build on international experiences and studies, adapting them to a Danish context.
- Biochar development: There is a need for optimizing and scaling biochar solutions to advance the CO2 storage potential of biochar to receive negative emissions. Optimizing biochar use in agriculture and land restoration is essential, focusing on aspects such as (but not limited to) adaptation to different soils and climates to maximize carbon sequestration and co-benefits such as enhanced soil fertility and agricultural productivity. Challenges with biomass supply and the role of biochar in general land use strategies are also important to address.
- Nature-based solutions: Understanding long-term carbon storage in various biosystems and future climates is essential to enhance nature-based CO2 reduction solutions. This includes research on plant selection, soil and crop management, and biomass utilization, as well as improving methods to quantify, monitor, and verify carbon storage in natural systems. A deeper understanding of natural systems, including (but not limited to) tree growth conditions and species selection for carbon sequestration, is needed. This is especially important in relation to the June 2024 Green Tripartite Agreement, which involves the establishment of 250,000 acres of new forest in Denmark by 2045. Project proposals relating to this afforestation effort should estimate and document their contributions towards innovative practices and optimization of the CO2 uptake effect of the afforestation activities resulting from the Green Tripartite Agreement.
- System integration: Integrating DAC, biochar, and nature-based solutions into future carbon management systems is essential. This involves frameworks combining technological and natural carbon capture, optimizing land use, and ensuring that methods complement each other for maximum sequestration. Synergies with renewable energy and sustainable practices could also be explored to enhance efficiency and impact.
Optimizing and scaling CO2 storage solutions
It is a priority for INNO-CCUS to drive research and innovation that facilitates the transition from exploration to full-scale operational CO2 storage which is a central pillar of Denmark’s climate strategy. Several large projects in Denmark are close to full-scale operational storage activity, but there is a need for further research and innovation to fully harvest the learnings from these first-mover projects and to prepare for more and different storage sites in the future.
Subthemes to be addressed by project proposals:
- Geological storage and infrastructure development: We are looking for research and innovation projects addressing aspects like site-specific injectivity, seal capacity, CO2 migration risks, subsurface interactions, injection techniques, and CO2 purity impacts on pipelines and storage systems. This includes (but is not limited to) exploring the technical and logistical aspects of CO2 transport via pipelines, shipping, truck, and rail, and adapting existing methods to accommodate the specific requirements of CCUS.
- Monitoring and verification: There is a strong need for developing advanced monitoring methods for storage sites, especially for land-based sites with limited access for traditional seismic monitoring equipment. Ensuring safety and accurate data on stored CO2 behaviour, while addressing leakage risks, groundwater contamination, seismic activity and other subsurface conditions as well as regulatory compliance, are also key priorities.
- Public-private collaboration: Large-scale CO2 storage requires innovative business models that reduce financial risks for private investors. Projects could address challenges like investment frameworks, integrating storage into industrial processes, and meeting regulatory and safety standards. There is also a great need for projects focussing on how to create clear, actionable frameworks that facilitate cooperation between research, public entities such as government bodies, and private companies.
Expanding CO2 utilisation for non-fuel applications
If we are to succeed in achieving carbon neutrality in the future, we need to substitute fossil-based carbon in many materials and chemicals with other carbon sources. Currently, conversion processes and CO2-derived products are far from commercially viable, and the aim for INNO-CCUS with this call is to fund research and innovation projects that contribute to building the foundation for a future market for CO2-derived products.
Subthemes to be addressed by project proposals:
- Non-fuel product development: There is a need for more and varied solutions for utilization of CO2 and for developing new applications for CO2-derived products. The focus of INNO-CCUS projects should be on chemicals, durable materials, and construction materials, currently relying heavily on fossil-based components/materials in the production process.
- Process innovation: Most technologies for utilizing CO2 in non-fuel products are currently at a TRL below 6. Enhancing the efficiency of CO2 conversion processes is important to ensure commercial viability, aiming for lower energy consumption and higher process efficiency. This could include CO2 purification, catalyst development for CO2 utilization to chemicals and durable products or optimizing process parameters.
- Market development: There is a need for investigating market potential and scalability of CO2-derived products as well as demonstration and documentation of these applications’ economic feasibility and environmental benefits. Other aspects of market development for CO2-derived products such as value chain interrelations, finance models and regulatory conditions are also important to investigate and develop further.
- Reduction and replacement effects of CO2 utilisation: There is a critical need for a deeper understanding of the reduction potential in long-term CO2 storage within materials and products. This includes comprehensive life cycle analyses from both an emission reduction and environmental impact perspective. Projects could focus on assessing long-term CO2 storage in materials or evaluating the scalability of CO2-derived products, such as biochar in building materials or enhanced carbonization of construction and demolition waste.
Strengthening societal and systemic integration of CCUS
Achieving a net-zero society depends significantly on CCUS technologies. However, their successful deployment requires more than technological advancements alone. A systemic and holistic approach is essential to identifying and addressing non-technical barriers that may hinder implementation. This prioritised area aims to drive progress across the identified subthemes and the broader CCUS field, ensuring the establishment of the necessary conditions, knowledge base and societal framework to enable CCUS to fulfil its critical role in combatting climate change.
Subthemes to be addressed by project proposals:
- Public engagement: We need research to better and deeper understand public perceptions of CCUS technologies and develop strategies for engagement and education to advance effective integration of CCUS technologies in society. Understanding community preferences and effectively engaging them in decision-making processes is crucial for establishing storage facilities and other large infrastructures causing public concern. Projects could focus on effective collaboration models or co-creation approaches, perceptions of risks, the distribution of costs and benefits, and the role of media and communication strategies.
- Regulatory and market Innovation: Explore innovative regulatory approaches that facilitate the deployment of CCUS technologies, including CO2 import/export regulations and incentives for CO2 utilization. This could include examining modes of collaboration among the various actors along the value chain, understanding market drivers and the roles of regulators, assessing the impact of various financing and business models, including the interplay between public subsidies and market mechanisms. The development of reliable carbon credit markets including robust, transparent and reliable certification processes is a critical factor for driving the development, and research into this would be important for facilitating development of a sustainable CCUS sector.
- System integration analysis: There is a need for better understanding how CCUS technologies are integrated into Denmark’s broader energy and industrial systems. Projects could focus on coupling CCUS with the energy grid, considering the fluctuating availability of renewable energy sources. But there is also a need for better understanding of the broader societal systems integration of and framework for establishing a new CCUS sector and how these fit with national climate and industry policies as well as energy strategies.
A holistic approach is encouraged to ensure comprehensive solutions, and international collaboration can be included where relevant.
See the full call text and other relevant documents below.
Call documents
- 01 Calltext INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 02 Process for funding INNO-CCUS pool 4 projects
- 03 Assessment criteria INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 04 Instructions for applicants INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 05 Funding rates: Cost categories and State Aid Rules - INNO-CCUS 2025
- 06 Guidelines Innomission 2024
- 07 The Danish CCUS Roadmap
- 08 State of CCUS (national project overview)
Templates
- 01 Key Application Information INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 02 Application template INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 03 Appendix A - Figures Pictures Tables - INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 04 Appendix B - Key persons - INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 05 Appendix C - Partner motivation - INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 06 Appendix D - Gantt template - INNO-CCUS pool 4
- 07 Appendix E - Budget template - INNO-CCUS
Download all
Disclaimer
INNO-CCUS and the Innovation Fund Denmark have not yet fully completed the investment agreement regarding the INNO-CCUS pool 4 call. In the unlikely event that significant changes will be made to the conditions of the agreement, INNO-CCUS reserves the right to postpone the application deadline or to withdraw the pool 4 call text and announce a new one as soon as possible thereafter. We expect the investment agreement to be concluded and signed well ahead of the application deadline. When this occurs, this disclaimer will be removed from the call documents and webpage.
Key details
Application deadline: 28 May 2025, 12:00 noon
Project duration: Minimum one year. Projects must be concluded by 30 November 2030.
Total budget for call: Approximately DKK 70 million.
Funding per project: Minimum DKK 3 million per project. There is no maximum budget limit per project, but we expect to fund between 5 and 15 projects.
TRL levels: Between 3 and 7 (applies to projects focussing on technological development aspects)
Online information meeting
5 March, 11:00 – 12:00 CET
The meeting offers an introduction to the call and the opportunity to ask questions.
Potential transfer of applications
Some projects may fit both Pool 3 and Pool 4 calls for projects. Applicants can allow their applications to be transferred between pools if they meet all the requirements of both calls. Learn more here.
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