Carbon Capture : Q&A: CCS Facilities worldwide

How many CCS facilities are there worldwide?

As of March 2024, there were 564 commercial CCS facilities globally in various stages of operation, construction, and development. Of those, 43 are operational, 33 are under construction, 158 are in advanced development, and 330 are in early development. The figures from Leila below are the latest numbers (669 facilities), but we don’t yet have those partitioned by stage of development. (see Table 1)

Which countries are at the forefront of CCS?

The US, UK, Canada, China, and Norway continue to lead the commercial CCS facility count. (see Table 2)

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CCS is gaining momentum in various industries and among lawmakers. Why do you think that is so?

Global progress on CCS has continued since the release of our 2023 Global Status Report, with consistent international recognition of the critical role of CCS in mitigating climate change, particularly among industrial sectors that lack other decarbonization options. Governments and lawmakers can see that several intergovernmental bodies and international organizations continue to reach the same conclusion. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Synthesis report reaffirmed CCS's essential role in achieving the Paris climate targets, highlighting CCS as a critical pathway to limit global warming to 1.5˚C, alongside carbon dioxide removal (CDR). At COP 28, in Dubai, CCS was highlighted in multiple ways, including reaffirmation of the need to scale carbon management technologies to keep the goal of limiting warming to1.5 °C alive, featuring CCS in the Paris Agreement's first Global Stocktake, and increasing recognition in countries' nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Additionally, leaders of G7 countries continue to affirm their support for carbon management technologies, including CCS, CCU, and CDR, calling for an "increase in the pace and scale of deployment of carbon management technologies and infrastructure" in their April 2024 communiqué. The launch of the Carbon Management Challenge is a further reflection of international CCS ambition.

Which sectors are most interested in implementing CCS technology?

CCS is a vital tool for mitigating otherwise unavoidable emissions from industrial sectors that lack other decarbonization options, such as iron, steel, cement, chemicals, and power generation. Currently, the top industries incorporating CCS into their operations are CO2 transport and storage, hydrogen/ammonia/fertilizer production, ethanol, power generation and heat, and natural gas processing.

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What is necessary to drive the implementation of CCS projects?

Recent global policy developments are accelerating the deployment of CCS, but additional incentives are needed to scale CCS deployment at the pace necessary to meet international climate goals. More countries need to establish CCS-specific legal and regulatory frameworks and while there is no shortage of global CO2 storage resources, the availability of developed storage sites, especially in proximity to capture points, remains an issue. Efforts to develop storage facilities need to be significantly ramped up to bring CCS to the desired scale globally.

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