Carbon Capture at a Crossroads: Pioneering Technologies and Scaling Challenges
What are the most promising developments in carbon sequestration technology that have emerged recently, and how close are we to achieving large-scale deployment?
CCS continues to show significant year-on-year momentum globally, driven by strong policy support. In the Global Status of CCS 2024, the Institute counted 628 projects across all stages of development, with a cumulative capture capacity of 416 Mtpa.
There are now 50 operational CCS projects, with the capacity to capture and store 51 Mtpa of CO2. Global CO2 capture capacity is on track to double to over 100 million tonnes per year (Mtpa), once facilities currently under construction commence operation.
Despite the positive outlook, the deployment rate of CCS will need to grow significantly to reach the required gigatonne scale to help meet global climate targets.
Despite consistent promises, commercial viability remains elusive for carbon sequestration technologies. What are the primary obstacles, and how are they being addressed?
Carbon management technologies are, in fact, commercial and ready to deploy. While good policymaking has strengthened the financing prospects for CCS, over the last year we’ve seen progress in the sector partially impacted by cost inflation, rising interest rates, permitting challenges and political uncertainty. In the absence of a strong global carbon price, public support offered by governments is crucial to realising wide-spread deployment.
What role do you see governments playing in accelerating the adoption of CCS technologies, particularly in terms of policy frameworks and financial incentives?
Policy, legal, and regulatory interventions in jurisdictions around the world have strengthened CCS support and spurred commitments to commercial deployment. Clear and consistent regulations can provide the certainty needed for private sector investment, while policies, such as carbon pricing mechanisms, establish the market conditions that make CCS commercially viable. Financial incentives – including grants and tax credits – and the facilitation of infrastructure development, lower uncertainty and enable deployment at scale.
Governments also have a crucial role to play in collaborative and multilateral policy forums. An outstanding example of this is the Carbon Management Challenge – a collective of 22 countries and the European Commission, working to raise CCS ambition and realise one gigatonne of CO2 abated through carbon management projects by 2030.
As head of the Middle East division at the Global CCS Institute, how do you view the region’s readiness and commitment to adopting CCS technologies compared to other global regions?
CCS is progressing rapidly in the Middle East, with a growing number of countries and companies integrating CCS into their decarbonisation strategies. There are currently three projects in operation and another six in construction, with significant CO2 storage capacity available.
The region’s focus on sustainable development and economic diversification, as well as the opportunity to leverage existing infrastructure, such as natural gas fields and industrial clusters, has positioned the Middle East to realise significant emissions reductions through carbon management projects.
Governments are collaborating closely with energy companies, industrial players, and international organizations to pool resources and expertise, ensuring that CCS projects align with both national goals and global climate targets.
The emergence of CCS hubs in the Middle East underscores the effectiveness of this collaborative model, offering economies of scale and shared infrastructure that reduce costs and accelerate deployment.
Public support and awareness are also gaining traction, with governments and industry leaders emphasizing the role of CCS in securing a just transition to a low-carbon economy. CCS is being positioned as a solution that preserves industrial competitiveness while creating new economic opportunities, such as job creation and innovation in carbon management technologies.
Through strategic alignment, robust policy support, and collective action, the Middle East is well-positioned to lead in CCS deployment, contributing significantly to global decarbonization efforts.
Which industries stand to benefit most from CCS, and are there any notable regional examples where CCS is being successfully implemented?
CCS is a highly versatile technology suite which can decarbonise aspects of society we can’t live without, that produce emissions we can’t live with. CCS is being applied to a diverse range of industries, including cement, steel, fertilisers, clean hydrogen production, power generation and natural gas processing.
In the region, CCS has been used since 2016 at the Al Reyadah facility operated by ADNOC in the UAE to produce low-carbon steel by capturing 0.8 Mtpa of CO2 at the EMSTEEL’s facility.
Qatar is also applying CCS to capture and store 2.1 Mtpa of CO₂ at its Ras Laffan LNG Facility.
In Saudi Arabia, the Uthmaniyah project, a CCS initiative that commenced operations in 2015, is capturing 0.8 Mtpa of CO2 at the Hawiyah Naturals Gas Liquids plant. The country is also taking important steps towards the development of the Al Jubail CCUS industrial Hub, the largest CCS hubs in the world and the first of its kind in the region, aiming to decarbonise industrial facilities, by capturing and storing 9 Mtpa by 2027, which is part of the kingdom’s overall target of 44 Mtpa by 2035.
One of the significant barriers to CCS adoption has been cost. Are there innovative funding models or collaborations that could make it more feasible for industries to adopt CCS?
Cost has traditionally been a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of clean technological solutions including CCS, but innovative funding models and collaborations are making it increasingly feasible for industries to deploy these technologies. CCS networks have emerged as the dominant model for deployment, as shared infrastructure for transport and storage helps improve project economics, reduce costs, and accelerate adoption. As of mid-2024, 222 dedicated transport and storage projects are in the global CCS pipeline, underscoring the growing prominence of the network model.
In the Middle East, countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain are leading the way in evaluating and developing CCS hubs, which enable multiple industries to share the costs of infrastructure and benefit from economies of scale.
Abu Dhabi has been at the forefront of CCS efforts in the UAE, leveraging its advanced industrial base and expertise in oil and gas to create a strong foundation for CCS deployment. ADNOC’s focus on low-carbon solutions, highlights the region’s commitment to making CCS economically viable through public-private partnerships.
Additionally, regional initiatives in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail industrial CCS hub and Sharjah National Oil Company’s CCS hub showcase how governments and industries are working together to create integrated CCS ecosystems. These hubs not only address cost barriers, but also position the region as a leader in CO2 sequestration and carbon trading.
Government support through financial incentives, such as grants and tax credits, is also playing a crucial role. Public and private stakeholders are aligning to secure funding for large-scale projects.
We are seeing the creation of innovative financial mechanisms and exploring new models like carbon capture as a service, carbon storage as a service and carbon contracts for difference. These measures ensure that CCS will become a commercially viable and competitive solution for decarbonization.
How can CCS technologies be integrated with the growing renewable energy sector to create a more comprehensive strategy for emission reduction?
To reach our shared climate goals and limit the negative effects of climate change, countries will need to design their own energy mix based on their needs and the availability of resources, working towards the deployment of renewables and other key climate mitigation options that can support their national decarbonisation strategies.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and CCS is an important component of the climate mitigation toolkit we have at our disposal, needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
In addition to representing a crucial climate solution for energy-intensive industries, CCS can enable net-zero power generation, supporting decarbonization of power grids while maintaining their reliability and resilience. This ensures there are dispatchable sources in the power mix to complement the variable nature of renewables.
Integrating CCS with renewable energy can create synergies, such as using renewable electricity to power CO2 capture processes or combining CCS with hydrogen production from renewable sources to produce low-carbon fuels. Together, these technologies can form a comprehensive and resilient strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Public understanding and acceptance of CCS technology vary widely. What efforts are being made to improve awareness and trust in these technologies?
Public perception and stakeholder engagement are essential for the successful deployment of carbon management technologies and should be a core element of all CCS projects.
Building trust requires transparent communication of CCS’s role as a critical climate mitigation solution and its broader benefits, such as supporting net-zero targets, creating and sustaining jobs in heavy-emitting industries, and enabling a just transition by helping existing industries remain competitive in low-carbon economies.
Education and capacity building are also vital. Programmes aimed at raising awareness, training local talent and fostering expertise in CCS technologies can help ensure widespread understanding and acceptance. Engaging academic institutions, industry leaders and governments in these efforts strengthens the foundation for long-term adoption and community trust in CCS solutions.
What milestones do you believe CCS technology needs to achieve in the next decade to meet global climate goals effectively?
Achieving global climate targets will require annual CO2 storage rates of approximately 1 gigatonne per annum by 2030, and multiple gigatonnes per annum by 2050. For CCS to support reaching our shared climate goals, it is essential to speed up the deployment of the technology and have more projects reaching final investment decisions and ultimately commencing operations.
Difficult investment settings, community concerns and regulatory barriers are among the key challenges that must be addressed. Over the coming years, governments, industries and research institutions should continue working together and increase efforts towards removing barriers, lowering costs and driving investment in CCS.
What initiatives is the Global CCS Institute currently leading or supporting in the Middle East to promote CCS technologies, and what outcomes are you expecting?
The Global CCS Institute continues to work closely with its members and regional stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of CCS technologies in the Middle East, focusing on cost-effective and timely deployment. To achieve this, the Institute actively shares expertise, builds capacity and provides critical guidance on policy, regulation, and business model development.
Exemplary of these efforts, the Institute recently partnered with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to develop guidance to support the government of Oman in the design and implementation of CCS-specific legislation.
The Institute has been actively engaged in working with the Saudi Ministry of Energy (MOE) on strategies to integrate CCS into the Kingdom’s broader climate and economic goals by evaluating potential business models and commercialization of CCS.
Collaboration with ADNOC, a regional leader in CCS deployment, aims to capacity building and developing new initiatives to enhance carbon management capabilities in the UAE.
Furthermore, the Institute is building partnerships with academic institutions across the region to enhance research and development, support local talent and advance education and capacity-building initiatives essential for the long-term success of CCS technologies.
The outlook for CCS in the region is certainly promising. The capture capacity of CCS projects in the pipeline across the Middle East and Africa is expected to exceed 65Mtpa by 2035. This will continue to be driven by regional decarbonisation strategies, and collaboration across the public and private sectors in areas including carbon markets, technology development, and various cross-border initiatives and projects.
