Energy Blog: Is It Carbon Capture’s Time?

While the technology to separate and capture carbon from other gases has been around for about a century, becoming more widely used in the 1970s with the rise of enhanced oil recovery, it’s only been about 30 years since the first commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant began operations. That was the Sleipner project in Norway, which opened in 1996 and is reportedly still operating. While there are arguments on both sides of CCS—some tout it as the key to lowering industrial-scale emissions, while others call it nothing more than a pipe dream—investment into the technology and commercial facilities is barreling ahead. 

According to the Global CCS Institute’s October 2024 report, “2024 Global Status of CCS,” around 50 commercial-scale carbon capture facilities are operating worldwide as of 2024, capturing about 50 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) combined each year. There are another 44 under construction, while a whopping 534 are in development. The think-tank also reported that the number of these projects in Front End Engineering and Design or field development plans had more than doubled over the previous 12 months, going from 121 to 247. 

Time will tell if these facilities will in fact start up as planned in the coming years or remain trapped in various stages of development. 

There are multiple reasons why it’s been a slow-moving process, but a one is certainly cost. Obtaining the right permitting and other regulatory approvals is another. There’s also the daunting task of having to build the sheer number of facilities that would be required to meet global net-zero targets. The International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2023 reported that “the pipeline of current projects is only just around 40 percent of the Net Zero Scenario requirement in 2030.” 

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The United States hosts 19 operational commercial-scale facilities, which capture more than 22 million metric tons of CO₂ per year, according to the Carbon Capture Coalition (CCC). In February, the nonpartisan advocacy group released its “2025 Federal Policy Blueprint,” in which it recommended multiple actions to the 199th Congress, “including addressing growing inflationary pressures, improving permitting systems across the value chain, expanding markets, and investing in innovative, next-generation carbon management technologies to help ensure these projects and this industry come to fruition.” 

According to BloombergNEF, the global carbon capture sector saw more than $11 billion in investments in 2023, which is nearly double 2022 levels, and the U.S. accounted for 25 percent of that. The U.S. also has the most commercial CCS facilities in the pipeline than any other country at 231 as of late 2024, Statista reported, compared to runners up the U.K. and Canada at 67 and 57, respectively. 

Under the Biden Administration, CCS got multiple boosts. Some examples from 2023 include $251 million awarded to CCS projects in seven states, along with $1.2 billion to two direct air capture projects that will capture 2 million metric tons of carbon annually (although the press release at the DOE has conveniently disappeared). Those were Project Cypress in Louisiana and the South Texas DAC Hub in Texas. The future of both projects is now unclear, as the DOE is now weighing whether or not to actually fund them. 

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How things will shape up moving forward is unclear, especially given the new administration’s sweeping funding freezes. Some traditional CCS supporters are also changing their tune. Floodlight recently reported that CCS is “facing new opposition from Republican lawmakers in Louisiana, the U.S. epicenter of the push for carbon capture and sequestration.” There are about 30 CCS projects planned in the state, but new legislation is aiming to either ban or delay the work. 

There are even some in the industry who are debating whether rebranding the sector as a way to create jobs rather than an environmental solution would help ensure pathways to federal funding. 

Despite current uncertainties, these projects are still progressing and making headlines. Just this month, the Stratos Direct Air Capture Facility, being developed by a joint venture of Occidental Petroleum and BlackRock got EPA approval to inject 500,000 metric tons of CO₂ 4,400 feet underground in Odessa, Texas.  

While global investment in CCS may well continue uninhibited, the same might not be true in the U.S. The CCC emphasized earlier this week that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the federal Section 45Q tax credit “are the ‘twin pillars’ of domestic carbon management deployment—both are necessary policy levers to ensure meaningful deployment of the technology over the next decade.” Of course, that’s if they even survive through the end of this year.

Louise Poirier is senior editor.