CCS and the Global Energy Transition: A Sustainable Pathway

The global energy system stands at a crossroads. As the world races to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged as a critical technology in the climate mitigation toolkit. While renewable energy sources continue their rapid expansion, certain sectors remain stubbornly difficult to decarbonize through electrification alone. This is where CCS enters the picture-not as a silver bullet, but as an essential component of a broader sustainable transformation strategy.

Decarbonizing heavy industry: where CCS becomes indispensable 🔗

Heavy industries such as cement, steel, and chemicals represent some of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize. These industries generate what experts call “process emissions”-carbon dioxide released through chemical reactions inherent to manufacturing, not just from burning fuel. A cement plant, for instance, releases CO₂ when limestone is heated to produce clinite, regardless of what energy source powers the facility.

These hard-to-abate sectors produce materials society fundamentally depends upon. We need cement for construction, steel for infrastructure, and chemicals for countless products. The production processes involve high-temperature heat requirements that cannot simply be electrified with current technology. This makes CCS particularly valuable-it can address both thermal emissions from fuel combustion and process emissions from chemical reactions.

Real-world progress in industrial CCS 🔗

The industrial application of CCS is gaining momentum globally. Heidelberg’s cement CCS project in Brevik, Norway reached mechanical completion in late 2024 and represents the world’s first commercial-scale carbon capture cement facility. When fully commissioned, it will demonstrate that large-scale industrial decarbonization through CCS is technically achievable.

Research indicates that CCS could mitigate between 31% and 41% of carbon emissions in sectors like steel manufacturing by 2060. The technology offers industrial facilities a pathway to achieve carbon reductions without completely overhauling production techniques-a crucial consideration for industries with expensive, long-lived assets.

Major CCS hubs are developing across regions with concentrated industrial emissions. Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have made significant strides, with several hubs already operational. Gulf Cooperation Council energy firms, including Saudi Aramco and ADNOC, are investing heavily in CCS projects to decarbonize industrial zones. These collaborative hub approaches allow multiple industry players to share infrastructure, reducing individual investment burdens and operational risks.

Bioenergy with CCS: achieving negative emissions 🔗

While conventional CCS prevents emissions from entering the atmosphere, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) goes further-it can actually remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. This distinction makes BECCS a uniquely powerful tool in long-term climate strategies.

The process works through photosynthesis: plants absorb CO₂ as they grow, and when that biomass is converted into energy, the resulting emissions are captured and permanently stored underground. Because the carbon originated from the atmosphere rather than fossil deposits, BECCS creates a net removal of CO₂ from the carbon cycle.

Current BECCS deployment and potential 🔗

As of 2024, three large-scale BECCS projects operate globally, all at ethanol production facilities. The Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage project in Decatur, USA, represents one of the pioneering industrial-scale BECCS installations, capturing CO₂ from ethanol production and injecting it into deep saline formations.

Expert assessments estimate that BECCS could potentially sequester between 0.5 and 5 billion metric tons of CO₂ annually by 2050, with possibilities for higher rates by 2100. Climate scenarios compiled by the IPCC suggest that limiting warming to 1.5°C could require sequestering roughly 5 to 10 billion metric tons of CO₂ per year through BECCS by century’s end.

Denmark has emerged as a leader in BECCS development. The country’s NECCS Fund provides subsidies supporting negative emissions from biogenic CO₂ capture and geological storage, targeting additional removals of 0.5 million tons per year from 2025 onwards. Two Danish combined heat and power plants with capacity to remove over 400,000 tons of CO₂ annually received contracts from the Danish Energy Agency.

Challenges facing BECCS scale-up 🔗

Despite its potential, BECCS faces significant hurdles. Growing dedicated bioenergy crops increases demand for water and fertilizer, potentially stressing ecosystems. Land conversion for biomass cultivation could release carbon stored in soils or existing vegetation, partially offsetting the climate benefits.

The various steps in the BECCS value chain-biomass supply, feedstock preprocessing, energy conversion, and CO₂ storage-are rarely co-located. This geographic dispersion requires additional infrastructure to connect these steps, adding complexity and cost. Sustainable biomass sourcing remains critical; if forests are harvested faster than they regrow, the supposed carbon benefits may not materialize.

Integrating CCS with renewable energy 🔗

The relationship between CCS and renewable energy is complementary rather than competitive. Both technologies are expected to be key contributors toward decarbonizing the energy sector and ensuring sustainable energy supply. However, the variable nature of wind and solar power creates challenges for electricity grid stability that CCS-equipped facilities can help address.

Providing grid stability and firm power 🔗

In the IEA’s scenario for net-zero emissions, solar PV and wind will dominate electricity generation by 2050, with 54,679 GW of capacity compared to just 251 GW from coal and gas plants equipped with CCS. Yet those CCS facilities serve a vital purpose: they can produce electricity in any season, at any time of day, and can be dispatched during periods of high demand when renewable output is low.

This concept of “clean firm power”-electricity that is both low-emissions and available on demand-has attracted major corporate interest. Google signed what is believed to be the first corporate power purchase agreement linked to a CCS-enabled power plant in the United States. The Broadwing Energy facility in Illinois, a 400-megawatt natural gas cogeneration plant, will capture over 90% of its CO₂ emissions while delivering dispatchable power to help Google meet its goal of operating on carbon-free energy around the clock by 2030.

Hybrid approaches for reliable low-carbon energy 🔗

CCS-equipped power plants can operate flexibly to support grid stability as the share of variable renewable energy increases. Research demonstrates that flexible CCS operation-rather than traditional baseload operation-can become profitable under the right market conditions and policy incentives.

The integration works both ways. Solar-assisted carbon capture systems can compensate for the energy penalty of CO₂ capturing, improving overall system efficiency. During periods of high solar availability, thermal energy from concentrated solar collectors can provide the heat needed for carbon capture processes, reducing the facility’s energy consumption and operating costs.

Advanced control systems can manage energy distribution in hybrid setups by using renewable energy first, then stored energy, and traditional power as a backup. This dynamic flow promotes sustainability while maintaining reliability. Battery storage systems increasingly participate in ancillary services markets, providing regulation and reserves that complement both renewable and CCS-equipped generation.

Policy and investment: the foundations for scaling CCS 🔗

The technology for carbon capture exists. What remains is building the policy frameworks and mobilizing the investment needed to deploy it at climate-relevant scale. Current global CCS capacity must expand more than 100-fold to reach 4 to 6 gigatons of CO₂ by 2050 and decarbonize approximately 15% to 20% of today’s energy-related emissions.

The US policy landscape 🔗

The United States passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, providing approximately $12 billion across the CCS value chain through 2026. The following year, the Inflation Reduction Act enhanced the Section 45Q tax credit substantially.

Under the revised 45Q provisions, payment for carbon captured from industrial and power generation facilities and stored in saline formations increased to $85 per ton, up from $50. Carbon captured through direct air capture and stored geologically now receives up to $180 per ton. The legislation also lowered eligibility thresholds: power generation facilities now qualify if they emit just 18,750 tons of CO₂ annually, down from 500,000, while industrial facilities qualify at 12,500 tons.

Combined, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act committed over $580 billion to combat climate change, with significant portions supporting CCS and carbon removal development. These unprecedented funding levels aim to transform the industry and increase the probability of meeting climate goals.

European and international initiatives 🔗

The European Union issued around $1.5 billion to CCS projects under its Innovation Fund, plus over $500 million to CO₂ transport and storage projects through the Connecting Europe Facility. The Netherlands allocated over $7.3 billion through its SDE++ scheme for CCS projects connecting to the Aramis transport and storage network. Denmark committed $1.2 billion from its CCUS Fund.

International collaboration is accelerating. The Carbon Management Challenge, launched at the Major Economies Forum in 2023, features a joint call from 19 countries and the European Commission to deploy CCS technologies. Cross-border arrangements are being established; Denmark and France signed an agreement in March 2024 enabling CO₂ transport and storage between the two countries under the London Protocol framework.

Investment trends and infrastructure needs 🔗

Investment in CCS has tripled since 2022, reaching $6.4 billion, with 628 projects now in the pipeline representing a 15% year-on-year increase. Major energy companies including ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, and Aramco have announced individual CCS targets ranging from 10 to 30 million tons of CO₂ annually by 2030.

Hub projects represent a promising approach to reducing costs. Santos Ltd’s Moomba CCS Project in Australia reuses existing pipelines and gas processing facilities, utilizing depleted reservoirs to achieve lifecycle costs under $30 per ton-among the lowest globally. Leveraging existing infrastructure can bring significant cost efficiencies while reducing development timelines.

However, translating policy support into operational projects takes time. Grant negotiations and funding disbursement create inevitable delays. For EU Innovation Fund recipients, it typically takes more than a year from funding call to grant award. As of early 2024, approximately 45% of US infrastructure law funding for CCS had been allocated or made available to projects.

Navigating the path forward 🔗

CCS technology is not without controversy. Some environmental groups argue it risks perpetuating fossil fuel use and continuing negative health impacts on communities near emitting facilities. Others point to historically mixed results and high costs as reasons for skepticism. These concerns deserve serious attention as deployment accelerates.

Responsible CCS deployment requires robust governance frameworks addressing permitting, liability, and long-term monitoring. Companies must engage meaningfully with local communities, develop legally binding community benefits agreements, and demonstrate commitment to broader decarbonization alongside CCS implementation. The technology should not serve as a license to perpetuate fossil fuel dependence, particularly in the power sector where alternatives are commercially available.

Yet the evidence suggests CCS will play some role in reaching net-zero goals. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions notes that carbon capture could achieve 14% of global greenhouse gas emission reductions needed by 2050 and represents the only practical way to achieve deep decarbonization in certain industrial sectors. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report found no scenarios limiting warming to 1.5°C that allow continued fossil fuel use at current levels-but most scenarios do include CCS as one tool among many.

The path forward requires balancing urgency with responsibility. CCS infrastructure takes years to plan, permit, and construct. Policies must provide stable, long-term signals that justify major capital investments. International cooperation must facilitate cross-border CO₂ transport and storage. And communities affected by CCS projects must have meaningful voice in decisions that affect them.

What do you think? Given that heavy industries like cement and steel lack viable low-carbon alternatives, how should societies balance the risks of CCS deployment against the risks of failing to decarbonize these sectors? And as renewable energy costs continue falling, what role should CCS play in electricity generation versus focusing exclusively on industrial applications?

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