Brandenburg Plans Germany’s First Onshore CO2 Storage Law

Key Takeaways

• Brandenburg’s SPD and CDU seek Germany’s first state law on onshore CO2 storage by Q2 2027.
• It would use the federal KSpTG opt-in.
• Planned: strict safety and groundwater rules, monitoring, early public participation and a levy for host regions.
• OPAL and EUGAL gas pipelines could carry CO2; the former Ketzin site may become a research hub.
• Cement, lime and WtE plants outside large clusters need nearby storage to avoid relocation, says CMA.

Germany’s federal state Brandenburg is set to become the first German state to allow permanent geological storage of carbon dioxide on land. The governing SPD and CDU parliamentary groups have tabled a motion in the Landtag calling on the state government to draft a dedicated state law on CO2 storage. They also want it presented to parliament by the second quarter of 2027. The Carbon Management Alliance (CMA), an industry association, has welcomed the move.

The motion builds on Germany’s federal Carbon Dioxide Storage and Transport Act (Kohlendioxid-Speicherungs- und Transportgesetz, KSpTG). Under that law, onshore storage is only permitted where the individual federal state opts in by passing its own legislation. According to the CMA, Brandenburg would be the first state to use this opt-in. The federal framework otherwise leaves German emitters dependent on offshore storage or on storage sites abroad.

What the Draft Law Is Expected to Contain

The motion, filed as Landtag printed paper 8/3493 on 2 October 2026, sets out five conditions for the future law. Permanent storage in Brandenburg’s geological subsurface is to be enabled on the basis of the federal opt-in rule. In addition, there is the option of restricting storage spatially to suitable areas. The law is to require the highest standards for safety, environmental and groundwater protection. It also requires permanent monitoring of storage sites.

Public information and participation are to begin early, and the law is to define binding requirements for transparent involvement of residents and municipalities in potential host regions. In addition, the state is to introduce a storage levy under state law. Through this, municipalities and regions hosting storage sites would share in the economic use of the subsurface. The interests of host municipalities and regions are to be taken into account in the design of the law.

Beyond the law itself, the state government is asked to examine how a CO2 network could be integrated with existing and planned hydrogen infrastructure. For example, this could be done through joint or bundled pipeline corridors. In this way, land take and the cost of building both systems could be reduced.

Existing Pipelines and the Ketzin Site Under Review

Two further points of the motion concern existing assets. The state government is to examine, together with the respective operators, whether the OPAL and EUGAL natural gas transmission pipelines that run through Brandenburg, or suitable sections of them, could be used or converted for CO2 transport in the longer term. The motion notes that this depends on technical requirements. It also depends on the future use of the lines, regulatory conditions and economic considerations.

The government is also to assess whether the former CO2 research site at Ketzin could be used again for research, testing or application of storage technologies and developed into a research location for carbon management. According to the motion, geological storage was studied there under real conditions over several years and accompanied by extensive monitoring. The research project has since been completed and parts of the technical infrastructure dismantled, but the geological data and operational experience, including from monitoring and decommissioning, remain available. The state also refers to an existing study, “CCUS Technologies in Brandenburg”, as a basis for assessing storage potential.

Why Industry Is Pushing for Storage on Land

The CMA states that cement and lime works and Waste-to-Energy plants in Brandenburg generate process-related emissions that cannot be fully avoided by technical means. Without the option to capture and permanently store these emissions, the association warns, production and value creation could relocate away from the region. The motion itself names the coal, steel and cement industries as sectors in which process emissions are difficult or impossible to avoid entirely.

Many of the affected plants in Brandenburg are not located in large industrial clusters and therefore have limited access to transport networks, to storage sites abroad or to possible offshore storage, according to the CMA. Onshore storage close to the source would shorten transport routes. Furthermore, it would reduce costs and lessen dependence on individual transport routes and on external storage providers, the association argues.

Timeline and Next Steps

The CMA supports the proposed timetable and calls for exploration of potential storage sites to be made possible promptly and for the permitting and investment framework to be clarified at an early stage. This would enable companies to take investment decisions. The association also calls for early public information, transparent exploration and safety assessments, and close involvement of municipalities.

The motion states that parliament supports the goal of making Brandenburg a frontrunner in building a CO2 infrastructure and modern carbon management technologies. Alongside the legislative process, the state is to set up a statewide dialogue and information format that goes beyond formal participation procedures. According to the motion, legislation, a planning agenda for subsurface exploration and public dialogue are to proceed in parallel.

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