CDR on the Rise: Horizon Europe fuels EU investment, but net-zero demands more

Europe’s got a big goal: climate neutrality by 2050. While cutting emissions is crucial, the widespread use of carbon removal technologies is necessary to achieve climate ambitions. Our current understanding of various carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods is still developing, with sizable funding and research required to grow technologies and develop vital CO₂ infrastructure. However, EU funding for CDR has consistently fallen short, receiving a marginal 0.1% of the climate budget in the EU’s flagship research and innovation fund Horizon Europe (2021-2027 funding cycle).

Despite this historically small funding, our detailed analysis of the Horizon Europe 2025-2027 work programme reveals a welcome shift. We’ve uncovered a growing focus on carbon removal, with increased funding and a deeper emphasis on CDR method development. It looks like the carbon removal tides may be turning!

While this shift indicates a move in the right direction, a substantial funding gap still remains, reinforcing the need for greater future efforts. So, what exactly does this mean for CDR? Our close look at the new 7.3-billion-euro Horizon Europe funding pot unveils precisely how CDR is currently being funded, how this compares to the previous 2022-2023 funding period, and what critical research, development, and innovation (RD&I) questions still need to be addressed to truly unlock carbon removal’s full potential.

To understand how CDR funding is addressed in Horizon Europe, it’s important to distinguish between direct and indirect CDR funding. Indirect funding calls produce spillover effects for removal methods by supporting foundational knowledge and infrastructure, such as CO₂ transport and storage or strengthening MRV systems. Conversely, direct funding explicitly targets the development of specific removal methods or technologies.

Our mapping of the 2025-2027 Horizon Europe Work Programme (Clusters 5 and 6) identified 25 CDR-relevant calls with an indicative budget of €389 million: 14 indirect calls worth €204.5 million and 11 direct calls worth €184.5 million. You can find our detailed mapping and overview of calls here.

To put it into context, compared to the 2023-2024 budget:

• Direct CDR project funding rose from approximately 0.9% of the 2023-2024 total budget to 2.4% in 2025-2027.
• Total direct and indirect CDR funding increased from 2.6% of the 2023-2024 budget to a significant 5% in 2025-2027.

Beyond the sheer quantity of funding, it’s crucial to critically analyse the quality and specific allocations Horizon Europe has made to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in its 2025-2027 funding calls. Comparing how these calls address CDR against the 2023-2024 period offers vital insights into the EU’s intensified efforts and Horizon Europe’s direct impact on carbon removal development. This deeper dive uncovers four key areas that signal an evolution in the EU’s strategic approach and the overall effectiveness of its calls.

1. Direct Air Capture (DAC)

The 2025-2027 work programme features four direct calls for DAC, a significant expansion from the single direct call in 2023-2024. Dedicated DAC development funding now targets improving core technology (e.g., cost and environmental impact reduction) and integrating captured CO₂ into diverse utilisation pathways. This focus also includes advanced biofuels, synthetic products, and novel biotechnological applications like CO₂-to-food conversion.

2. Marine CDR (mCDR):

While 2023-2024 calls emphasised blue carbon, natural seabed sequestration, and marine habitat restoration, the 2025-2027 work programme, despite fewer overall calls, features direct, explicit calls dedicated to improving the scientific understanding of engineered mCDR techniques like Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement. This specific mention signifies a cautious, yet determined push to understand the environmental impacts, risks, and MRV protocols for mCDR development.

3. MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification):

The 2025-2027 work programme shows an increase in direct calls targeting carbon removal (from 1 to 3), contrasting with 2023-2024 calls that broadly covered monitoring for forests, biodiversity, ocean variables, and carbon cycling. This funding supports the development of robust MRV protocols for emerging carbon removal technologies like mCDR. It also aims to accelerate the implementation of the EU-wide Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF).

4. Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS)

While 2023-2024 CCUS calls broadly covered climate mitigation or biogenic source capture, 2025-2027 calls directly fund CCUS implementation. The call advances captured CO₂ use as feedstock for advanced biofuels and synthetic products and fosters long-term carbon storage in construction materials. CCUS development now explicitly focuses on circular carbon solutions by turning CO2 into resources and durable products

While our analysis of the Horizon Europe 2025-2027 work programme shows encouraging signs of growing recognition for carbon removal, it’s clear that the EU still has a substantial distance to cover to meet its 2050 climate neutrality goals. As the EU prepares its next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and Framework Programme for R&I (FP10), robust and comprehensive support for carbon removal is not just desired, it’s critical. Carbon Gap strongly recommends that the EU takes the following essential steps to ensure carbon removal plays its vital role in Europe’s climate future:

1. Ensure robust and ringfenced funding for CDR: Commit at least 2.6 billion euro to early-stage CDR through the next MFF, FP10, and other mechanisms. Predictable funding for long-term planning is essential, as is reducing barriers for smaller projects.
2. Develop a strategic CDR RD&I roadmap: This roadmap should build on the European Commission’s report on R&I for climate neutrality by 2050, which already identified CDR as a key solution in need of robust R&I support. However, this is only the beginning. Future RD&I funding must be made more visible, accessible, and secure by designing comprehensive calls that clearly target a portfolio of diverse CDR methods.
3. Broaden and optimises CDR funding calls: Enhance the visibility, accessibility, and security of
4. These calls should extend beyond technical aspects to include innovation in governance and societal readiness.

The 2025-2027 work programme marks the culmination of the Horizon Europe framework, with the next generation of EU research funding – Framework Programme 10 (FP10) – expected in the early summer. Doors are opening for carbon removal, but the potential gains from dedicated funding depends entirely on the submission of strong, innovative applications. Ensure these opportunities lead to tangible impact: visit the EU Funding and Tenders Portalto apply for the Horizon Europe calls for this period.