Germany unveiled a €6 billion industrial decarbonisation initiative designed to subsidize emissions reductions across energy-intensive industries and explicitly incorporate carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for the first time in its national program. The scheme will fund competitive, multi-year contracts prioritizing projects that deliver the lowest subsidy per tonne of CO₂ avoided, with a December 1 deadline to register bids for the 2026 round.

For refiners, the program is significant: it creates a funding pathway for CCS pilots and hydrogen/heat electrification projects that can materially lower onsite CO₂ emissions. By offering 15-year contracts and milestone-driven support, Germany is signaling willingness to underwrite long-term industrial transitions while safeguarding competitiveness. The policy also tightens the rubric for project selection (cost-per-ton benchmarks), nudging refiners to develop credible CCS proposals with robust measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems to win awards.