While the world debates climate solutions, the carbon capture industry is already building a multi-billion dollar reality, with global capacity hitting 45 million tonnes per year and investments soaring past $5 billion as nations race to lock away emissions.
Key Takeaways
- Global CCS capacity operational in 2023 reached 45 MtCO2 per year across 43 commercial facilities
- The CCUS project pipeline grew to 402 projects in development by end-2023, representing 440 MtCO2/year capture potential
- CCUS market size projected to reach USD 7.5 billion by 2028 at 12.6% CAGR from 2023
- CCUS technology readiness: Post-combustion at TRL 9, pre-combustion TRL 8
- Direct Air Capture (DAC) energy intensity: 1.5-2.5 GJ/tonne CO2 captured
- Amine-based post-combustion capture efficiency: 90-95% CO2 purity at 80% recovery
- 193 active CO2 storage sites globally with 750 MtCO2 injected since 1996
- Sleipner project (Norway): 1 MtCO2/year stored since 1996
- Boundary Dam (Canada): 1 MtCO2/year captured since 2014 from coal plant
- Global 45Q tax credit claims: USD 1.2 billion awarded for 12 MtCO2 by 2023
- Levelized cost of CCS for coal power: USD 60-120/tonne CO2 avoided in 2023
- DAC cost reduction: from USD 600/t to USD 100-200/t by 2030 projected
- Number of countries with CCS policy support: 25 as of 2023
- EU Net-Zero Industry Act mandates 50 MtCO2/year CCUS by 2030
- US BIL funds USD 3.5 billion for 4 DAC hubs by 2030
The carbon capture industry is rapidly scaling with strong investment and policy support worldwide.
Costs and Economics
- Global 45Q tax credit claims: USD 1.2 billion awarded for 12 MtCO2 by 2023
- Levelized cost of CCS for coal power: USD 60-120/tonne CO2 avoided in 2023
- DAC cost reduction: from USD 600/t to USD 100-200/t by 2030 projected
- CO2 transport pipeline cost: USD 5-15/km for 20 MtCO2/year flow
- Saline aquifer storage cost: USD 5-15/tonne CO2 stored
- EOR revenue potential: USD 20-50/tonne CO2 from oil recovery
- Post-combustion retrofit cost: USD 800-1,200/kW capacity added
- CCUS capex for natural gas processing: USD 30-60/tonne capacity/year
- Opex for amine capture plants: 10-20% of capex annually
- Insurance premium for storage: 0.5-2 USD/tonne CO2 over 20 years
- Hydrogen with CCS (blue H2) cost: USD 1.5-2.5/kg vs green USD 3-5/kg
- BECCS cost for negative emissions: USD 100-200/tonne CO2 removed
- CO2 shipping cost: USD 10-20/tonne for 1 Mt/year over 1,000 km
- MOF DAC materials cost: reduced to USD 50/kg at scale
- Full chain CCUS cost for cement: USD 50-80/tonne CO2 avoided
- 45Q credit utilization: 70% for EOR, 20% saline storage in 2023 claims
Costs and Economics Interpretation
While we've learned to value a ton of captured CO2 at a cool hundred bucks, the real sticker shock is the trillion-dollar tab we'd face to scale this promising but still eye-wateringly expensive 'break glass in case of emergency' plan for the entire planet.
Market Size and Growth
- Global CCS capacity operational in 2023 reached 45 MtCO2 per year across 43 commercial facilities
- The CCUS project pipeline grew to 402 projects in development by end-2023, representing 440 MtCO2/year capture potential
- CCUS market size projected to reach USD 7.5 billion by 2028 at 12.6% CAGR from 2023
- North America holds 55% of global operational CCS capacity with 25 MtCO2/year in 2023
- Investments in CCUS reached USD 5.2 billion in 2022, up 25% from 2021
- Global CCUS venture capital funding hit USD 1.4 billion in 2023 across 45 deals
- CCUS market expected to grow from USD 2.3 billion in 2023 to USD 10.2 billion by 2032
- Asia-Pacific CCUS capacity projected to reach 50 MtCO2/year by 2030
- US CCUS tax credits under 45Q increased 5x to USD 50/tonne for DAC in 2023
- European CCUS hub projects announced 15 GW capacity by 2030
- Global CCUS patent filings rose 15% to 1,200 in 2022, led by China
- CCUS job creation potential: 100,000 jobs by 2030 globally
- Middle East CCUS projects: 10 operational capturing 5 MtCO2/year in 2023
- CCUS insurance market valued at USD 500 million in 2023
- Global CCUS RFP announcements doubled to 50 in 2023
Market Size and Growth Interpretation
While the Carbon Capture Industry currently moves at the glacial pace of a polite cemetery caretaker, the frantic blueprints and betting slips being passed around the back suggest a desperate belief we can teach this corpse to sprint.
Policy and Regulations
- Number of countries with CCS policy support: 25 as of 2023
- EU Net-Zero Industry Act mandates 50 MtCO2/year CCUS by 2030
- US BIL funds USD 3.5 billion for 4 DAC hubs by 2030
- UK CCS business model: contracts for difference at GBP 18-102/tonne
- Canada CAD 8 billion low-carbon fund supports CCUS projects
- China 14th FYP targets 20 MtCO2/year CCUS demonstration by 2025
- Norway full chain CCS subsidy: NOK 17 billion for Longship project
- Australia Safeguard Mechanism mandates CCUS for 215 facilities emitting >100kt
- Japan CCUS Act passed 2023 for cross-border transport
- EU ETS free allocations reduced 30% for CCUS-eligible sectors by 2030
- US IRA expands 45Q to USD 85/t saline, USD 180/t DAC from 2025
- Global CCUS standards harmonized under ISO 27914 for storage
- India PLI scheme allocates INR 4,000 crore for CCUS R&D
- Brazil mandates CCS in new oil projects >50kt emissions
- Global MOC signatories: 40 countries commit to CCUS deployment
Policy and Regulations Interpretation
From Norway’s Longship to the US’s DAC hubs, the global race to trap carbon is now firmly backed by a serious, if not yet sufficient, arsenal of national policies and public cash, proving that while we’re still figuring out how to pay for our past, we’re at least starting to put a price on it.
Projects and Deployments
- 193 active CO2 storage sites globally with 750 MtCO2 injected since 1996
- Sleipner project (Norway): 1 MtCO2/year stored since 1996
- Boundary Dam (Canada): 1 MtCO2/year captured since 2014 from coal plant
- Gorgon project (Australia): 4 MtCO2/year capacity, 20 Mt stored by 2023
- Quest project (Canada): 1.3 MtCO2/year, 8.5 Mt stored total by 2023
- Petra Nova (US): 1.4 MtCO2/year captured from 2017-2020 coal plant
- Century Plant (US): 8.4 MtCO2/year from natural gas processing
- Illinois Industrial CCS project: 1.1 MtCO2/year from ethanol plant FID 2022
- HyNet North West (UK): 4.5 MtCO2/year by 2028 from industry
- Porthos project (Netherlands): 2.5 MtCO2/year from Rotterdam hub FID 2023
- Archer CCS (US): 2 MtCO2/year from DAC planned 2025
- Climeworks Orca plant (Iceland): 4,000 tonnes CO2/year DAC operational 2021
- Northern Lights (Norway): 1.5 MtCO2/year open storage hub FID 2020
- Delta (US): 13.5 MtCO2/year from Midwest industry planned
- Bayou Bend (US): 10 MtCO2/year storage capacity off Texas
- CO2CRC Otway (Australia): 100,000 tonnes stored in saline aquifer
- Lacq pilot (France): 50,000 tonnes CO2/year from gas plant 2010-2013
Projects and Deployments Interpretation
Despite three decades of global effort, the world's entire annual carbon capture capacity remains less than one week's worth of humanity's current carbon dioxide emissions, proving we've built a sophisticated teaspoon to empty a flooding ocean.
Technology and Methods
- CCUS technology readiness: Post-combustion at TRL 9, pre-combustion TRL 8
- Direct Air Capture (DAC) energy intensity: 1.5-2.5 GJ/tonne CO2 captured
- Amine-based post-combustion capture efficiency: 90-95% CO2 purity at 80% recovery
- Oxy-fuel combustion capture rate: >99% CO2 concentration in flue gas
- Membrane separation selectivity for CO2/N2: up to 100 at 20 bar pressure
- Calcium looping capture capacity: 95% at 650°C calcination temperature
- Electrochemical CO2 capture energy use: 0.5-1 MWh/tonne CO2
- Bioenergy CCS (BECCS) negative emissions potential: -5 GtCO2/year by 2050
- Solid sorbent DAC cycle time: 10-30 minutes per adsorption-desorption
- Chemical looping combustion efficiency: 99% CO2 capture with 40% fuel conversion
- Hybrid solvent systems reduce energy penalty by 25% to 2.2 GJ/tonne CO2
- MOF-based adsorbents CO2 capacity: 4-5 mmol/g at 1 bar, 25°C
- Cryogenic separation power consumption: 0.3-0.5 MWh/tonne CO2
- Enzyme-based capture rate: 10,000x faster than natural carbonic anhydrase
- Mineralization reaction rate enhancement: 100x via nanoparticles
Technology and Methods Interpretation
So, while the most polished carbon capture tech can scrub flue gas with the dutiful efficiency of a 1950s housewife, the cutting-edge alternatives range from promising lab experiments to wildly ambitious climate Hail Marys, proving we're throwing both the kitchen sink and a particle accelerator at this problem.
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