BECCUS Science and Policy
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (BECCUS) is a critical technology for climate change mitigation, enabling the removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere (“negative emissions”) by capturing and storing biogenic carbon that would otherwise be released. This report, “BECCUS Science & Policy,” outlines the conceptual basis, policy landscape, and climate mitigation effects of BECCUS systems, drawing on international perspectives and national case studies.
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BECCUS involves capturing CO₂ from biomass conversion processes and either utilising it in products (BECCU) or storing it permanently in geological formations (BECCS). Unlike fossil fuel CCS, which only avoids new emissions, BECCS can actively reverse climate change by transferring atmospheric carbon, captured by plants, into long-term geological storage. This process creates a “carbon pump” effect, de-risking terrestrial carbon sinks that are vulnerable to climate change impacts like wildfires and droughts.
National scenario modelling, particularly for countries with large agricultural sectors like Ireland, demonstrates that BECCS is essential for achieving climate neutrality by 2050. It provides a vital tool to offset residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, such as food production. As economies defossilise, the role of bioenergy can shift from substituting fossil fuels to providing renewable energy and negative emissions through BECCS. Furthermore, cascading biobased value chains—using biomass for products like particleboard before energy generation—can delay CO₂ release, buying time for BECCS technology to scale up and maximising the climate benefits of each unit of harvested biomass.
Despite its potential as carbon dioxide removal practice with high technology maturity and high permanence of storage, BECCUS is not yet systematically integrated into most national climate and energy policies, partly due to misconceptions about its effectiveness. Frontrunner countries like Denmark and Sweden are exceptions, actively implementing policies such as public tenders and reverse auctions to support commercial deployment. Denmark, for instance, has already contracted projects to capture and store approximately 0.6 million tonnes of CO₂ annually from 2026 through a competitive tender system. Sweden just followed with contracting Stockholm Exergi to capture and store 0.8 tonnes of CO₂ annually from the district heating and cooling plant starting in 2028. That is as much as the total yearly emissions from road traffic in Stockholm.
Stronger policy frameworks are urgently needed to scale up BECCUS, clarify definitions, and provide financial incentives to realise its full potential in building a sustainable, climate-neutral future.
Key Highlights for Policymakers
- BECCS is essential for meeting national climate targets. Scenario modelling shows that achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, especially in countries with significant agricultural emissions, will be extremely challenging, if not impossible, without the negative emissions provided by technologies like BECCS. It offers a critical pathway to offset hard-to-abate emissions from sectors like food production and land use, making climate neutrality a feasible goal.
- Urgent and clear policy support is needed to drive commercial deployment. While the scientific case for BECCUS is strong, its large-scale implementation is hindered by a lack of supportive policy frameworks in most countries. Learning from frontrunners like Denmark and Sweden, policymakers should implement mechanisms such as reverse auctions, carbon removal certification frameworks, and direct financial support (e.g., CCUS Funds) to create viable business models, reduce investment risk, and accelerate the scaling of these critical climate solutions.
- Crucial aspect to be addressed in the process of policy making: Cascading biobased value chains—using biomass for products like particleboard before energy generation—can delay CO₂ release, buying time for BECCS technology to scale up and maximising the climate benefits of each unit of harvested biomass.
About the BECCUS project
Within IEA Bioenergy TCP the topic of Bioenergy Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage is investigated with the involvement of many working Groups (Tasks), in an integral project of strategic relevance. In the years 2019-2021 the ‘Deployment of BECCUS value chains’-project was executed to understand the opportunities for, and obstacles to, deployment of BECCUs in different sectors. The project focused on determining factors for successful deployment, such as technology readiness levels, business model validities and designs of policy and regulatory framework.
In the second phase, the ‘BECCUS 2’-project is more diverse in scope, with stronger emphasis on cross-sector and cross-country learning about the implementation of BECCUS projects , using different energy conversion processes. The project also explores the effects of integrating BECCUSS facilities and systems within the overall energy system and, last but not least assesses the important differences between utilisation of captured carbon and storage of capture carbon.
