🇫🇮 Finnish government launches €90 million call for proposals for bio-based CO₂ capture projects

The Finnish government is promoting the construction of bio-based carbon dioxide capture capacity with a total of €90 million. On December 11, 2025, the Government issued a decree on the terms and conditions for grants to promote carbon capture in 2026–2032.

“Finland has a huge competitive advantage. We have clean electricity and bio-based carbon dioxide available for investments that will enable us to break away from our dependence on fossil fuels. The government wants to promote the advancement of these technologies, which strengthen self-sufficiency and reduce emissions.

As the geopolitical situation becomes more tense, there is an increasing need for these dependency-reducing solutions and investments, and they should be seen as part of our preparedness,” says Minister of the Environment and Climate Sari Multala.

The grant, which will be available for application in January, will support the first biogenic carbon dioxide capture solutions and their scaling up to industrial scale, as well as accelerate the market-driven advancement of similar solutions. Support may be granted for investments related to biogenic carbon dioxide capture if the captured carbon dioxide is permanently stored (BECCS) or utilised in products (BECCU).

In Finland, there is considerable potential for technical sinks and the utilisation of biogenic carbon dioxide.

According to the government program, the large-scale introduction of technological sinks, the advancement of clean solutions, and the hydrogen economy will be actively promoted as part of the government’s climate and industrial policy. For example, biogenic carbon dioxide generated by the forest industry and waste incineration should be captured and utilised as part of the hydrogen economy and to reduce dependence on fossil raw materials.

In practice, this means, for example, manufacturing chemicals and fuels using domestic raw material sources, i.e., bio-based carbon dioxide and clean electricity. According to the government program, carbon dioxide emissions from large industrial sources should be eliminated by 2035.

According to a study by VTT, bio-based carbon dioxide emissions from industry in 2023 were approximately 30 million tons per year. To put this into perspective, Finland’s total emissions in the same year, excluding the land use sector, were 41 million tons.

Supported projects will be selected based on a competitive tender

The grant will be awarded on the basis of a competitive bidding process, which will be launched in January 2026. The winning projects will be those that offer the lowest amount of grant required per ton of carbon dioxide capture capacity to be invested. Support will be targeted at larger industrial projects by setting a minimum threshold of 15,000 tons per year for the capture capacity to be built.

The size limit aims to target support at industrial-scale projects, the experience gained from which will also promote the implementation of subsequent large-scale capture facilities.

To be eligible for support, carbon dioxide capture must start by the end of 2030, and the carbon dioxide capture capacity covered by the grant should be in use until at least the end of 2035. There are also other eligibility criteria for projects.

The maximum amount of aid is EUR 30 million per eligible project. The aid may cover up to 30% of the total eligible costs of the project. The aid will be paid retrospectively on the basis of the progress of the projects and the eligible costs incurred.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for awarding the grants. The call for tenders is scheduled to open in January 2026.

The widespread adoption of technical sinks is also strongly emphasised in EU communications

The aid will contribute to the achievement of long-term national and EU climate policy objectives. The European Commission’s February 2024 communications (2040 climate target and industrial carbon management) emphasise the importance of negative emissions in sectors where reducing emissions is challenging. The communication on industrial carbon management sets targets for the deployment of EU-level technical sinks and for carbon dioxide capture and utilisation.

The Commission estimates that by 2040, the EU should capture 280 million tons of carbon dioxide, 40% of which should come from bio-based sources or directly from the atmosphere. The Commission has not yet issued any proposals for legislation or additional measures based on the communication on industrial carbon management. These are currently the most critical factors in terms of promoting the use of technical sinks and investments.

“Rules and incentives are needed to achieve the EU’s climate targets and to ensure a predictable operating environment, which is critical for the progress of investments. From the perspective of companies making investment plans, the profitability of projects should be ensured. Support funds are only available for piloting technological solutions and launching the first projects.

As part of their industrial and climate policy, the Commission and the EU as a whole must ensure that technological solutions utilising carbon dioxide capture receive incentives that will enable projects to move forward,” Minister Multala points out.

In September, Finland signed memoranda of understanding with Norway and Denmark on the transport of carbon dioxide for permanent storage. Finland may also offer opportunities for carbon dioxide mineralisation, which is also considered permanent storage.