Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is moving from demonstration projects toward larger commercial networks. In 2026, leading approaches include capturing CO2 from industrial facilities or ambient air, transporting it for use in products (e.g., fuels and construction materials), and storing it permanently in deep geological formations or stable minerals. Direct air capture (DAC) with storage and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) can also remove CO2 from the atmosphere, although both remain costly and limited in scale. The urgency is clear: the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2025 projects 2.8°C of warming under current policies, and 2.5°C even if national climate pledges are fully implemented. The International Energy Agency (IEA) 2026 project update found that operational and under-construction capture capacity increased by more than 10%, while storage capacity grew by about 25%. However, total potential capture capacity remained near 425 million tonnes per year, with many projects delayed toward 2035. DAC also remains expensive, with current projects costing approximately $800-$1,900 per tonne of CO2. These findings support expanding CCUS alongside rapid emissions reductions, with projects evaluated based on cost, scale, lifecycle emissions, storage permanence, environmental impacts, and local conditions.
Why It Matters
Large-scale CCUS matters because steel, cement, and chemical production emit about 6 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, roughly 70% of direct industrial emissions, and some process emissions cannot be eliminated through renewable energy sources alone. Existing power and industrial facilities could still emit approximately 8 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2050 unless they close early, switch to cleaner fuels, or install CCUS systems. CCUS can also support CO2 removal through various approaches (e.g., DAC and BECCS) that can help balance residual emissions on pathways to net zero. However, deployment remains far below the scale required. In 2025, operating commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects had a combined capture capacity of about 64 million tonnes of CO2 per year, compared with the billions of tonnes emitted annually by heavy industry. These figures show that CCUS must expand rapidly while complementing renewable energy, efficiency, electrification, and other direct emissions reductions.
Carbon Capture
Carbon capture solutions separate CO2 directly from ambient air, before or after combustion, or during fuel conversion. The main approaches are DAC, pre- and post-combustion capture, oxy-fuel combustion, and chemical looping. DAC typically uses fans and liquid solvents or solid sorbents to remove CO2 from the air for storage or utilization. IEA assessment counted 27 commissioned DAC plants, while each U.S. regional DAC hub is intended to demonstrate the potential to capture at least 1 million tonnes annually. Pre-combustion capture separates CO2 from synthesis gas before final combustion, leaving hydrogen rich fuels. Post-combustion capture removes CO2 from exhaust gases using reusable solvents and can be applied to power, cement, steel, and chemical facilities, although solvent regeneration requires additional energy. Oxy-fuel combustion burns fuel in nearly pure oxygen, producing an exhaust stream rich in CO2, while chemical looping transfers oxygen between air and fuel reactors using reusable metal oxides. Both approaches simplify CO2 separation but still face cost, material durability, and scale up challenges.
Carbon Utilization
Carbon utilization converts captured CO2 into fuels, chemicals, polymers, fertilizers, and construction materials, or uses it in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). IEA estimates that approximately 230 million tonnes of CO2 are used globally each year, including about 130 million tonnes for urea production (nitrogen-rich compound mainly used in fertilizers) and 70-80 million tonnes for EOR. However, many uses release CO2 again, so utilization does not always provide permanent sequestration. Mineralization offers a more durable option by reacting CO2 with alkaline materials, such as steel slag and mining waste, to produce stable carbonates, aggregates, and concrete. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) demonstration stored nearly three tonnes of CO2 in more than 10,000 concrete blocks. EOR can also retain some injected CO2 underground, but its climate benefit depends on permanent storage, energy use, and emissions from additional oil production.
Carbon Storage
Carbon storage methods keep captured CO2 out of the atmosphere through geological injection, mineralization, biomass storage, or enhanced weathering. Deep saline formations and depleted oil and gas reservoirs store compressed CO2 in porous rock beneath impermeable caprock, where it becomes trapped, dissolves into brine, or gradually forms minerals. Norway Sleipner project has stored about 1 million tonnes of CO2 annually beneath the North Sea since 1996, while Canada Quest facility is designed to store about 1 million tonnes per year more than two kilometers underground. Mineral carbonation reacts CO2 with calcium- or magnesium-rich materials, including basalt, mine waste, and steel slag, to create stable solid carbonates that can be stored or used in construction. Algae cultivation can convert CO2 into biomass, although its climate benefit depends on how long the carbon remains stored. Enhanced weathering spreads crushed silicate rock on farmland to absorb atmospheric CO2 while potentially improving soil conditions. The U.S. DOE is testing basalt across more than 3,000 acres of farmland to evaluate its carbon removal potential.
The Bottom Line
CCUS is becoming an important part of industrial decarbonization, but it is not a single solution for every facility or region. As climate targets tighten, regulatory and investor pressure is pushing cement, steel, chemicals, refining, and hydrogen producers to address emissions that cannot be eliminated through renewable energy and efficiency alone. For these industries, CCUS means matching the right capture technology to the emission source, connecting facilities through shared transport networks, and securing reliable utilization or permanent geological storage. Mature systems can already manage concentrated industrial emissions, while DAC, chemical looping, mineralization, algae-based solutions, and enhanced weathering still require lower costs, cleaner energy, stronger measurement, and wider commercial deployment. An integrated CCUS network can reduce compliance risk, support low carbon products, and create shared infrastructure that improves project economics. Industries no longer have to choose between continued production and climate action. The real test for CCUS is not whether it can capture carbon, but whether it can do so at scale, with credible accounting, public trust, and permanent storage, while accelerating, rather than delaying, the broader transition to a low-carbon economy.
