EsadeGeo and Fundación Repsol convened a closed-door workshop in Madrid to examine the strategic role of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Europe’s path to net-zero. The session is part of the Observatory EsadeGeo–Fundación Repsol on the Geopolitics of the Energy Transition. 

Omar Rachedi, Senior Fellow at EsadeGeo and moderator of the event, framed CCS as a potential bridge between industrial competitiveness and climate ambition, noting that current EU reduction trajectories still leave a residual carbon gap in hard-to-abate sectors. Samantha Gross, Director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution, delivered the keynote address. Drawing on her experience in energy and climate policy, Gross distinguished between theoretical capture potential and commercially viable projects, stressing that rigorous measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) must underpin any large-scale roll-out. 

The session evaluated the engineering limits of post-combustion capture, the economics of transport and storage hubs, and the policy incentives, from carbon contracts for difference to cross-border infrastructure harmonisation, that could accelerate investment. Discussions also highlighted regional deployment prospects, for example, in North-West Europe, where depleted gas fields provide bankable storage. 

The workshop concluded that CCS can make a “real difference” where three conditions align: high-concentration CO₂ streams, access to geologic storage or pipeline networks, and a durable framework that rewards permanent sequestration. EsadeGeo and Fundación Repsol will publish an outcome brief summarising policy recommendations and sectoral priorities.

A podcast version of the dialogue is available.