At COP29 in Azerbaijan, Nikolas RIgas, EnEarth's Head of Carbon Storage, took center stage at a panel discussion on "Mitigating Climate Change & Decarbonizing Industry through Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)." In his address, Nikolas made a powerful case for the critical role that CCS will play in achieving sustainable development and a green future for industries across Europe and beyond.
Nikolas emphasized that without carbon storage, sustainable development is simply not possible. He highlighted the need for collaboration across sectors to build a green value chain that enables industries like cement to decarbonize and contribute to a sustainable future.
As he put it, “All future green energy and industrial projects will need CCS to support them in terms of the raw materials necessary for construction.”
Nikolas also provided an update on Prinos CO2, one of Europe’s most advanced CCS projects. As the only commercially licensed CCS project in the Mediterranean and an EU Project of Common Interest, Prinos CO2 is now supported by €150m in state funding approved by the European Commission (DG Comp). This significant milestone demonstrates the project's strategic importance in Europe’s broader decarbonization efforts.
EnEarth, is planning to scale up to a maximum capacity of 3 million tons of CO2 per year - a project that could capture around 30% of Greece's industrial emissions. This operation will have the potential to extend its benefits to the wider Mediterranean region, with emissions possibly coming from as far as France.
Nikolas also discussed the ongoing need for Connecting Europe Facility funding to further de-risk the project. As he explained, Prinos CO2 still requires significant development work to ensure its long-term viability, a standard process for any major industrial development. The goal is clear: to decarbonize regional industry and create a collaborative European value chain that can deliver cost-effective CCS solutions.
Nikolas’s participation at COP29 reinforces EnEarth's leadership in the transition to a greener, more sustainable future. The development of CCS infrastructure is essential to achieving the decarbonization of European industry, and with Prinos CO2, EnEarth is playing a key role in this global effort.
