BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8. Global carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity is growing, with just over 50 million tons (Mt) of CO2 capture currently operational worldwide, according to the latest outlook by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Trend reports.
In 2024, several first-of-their-kind projects reached key milestones. The United Kingdom approved the first natural gas power plant with CCS as part of the East Coast Cluster, while China launched the world’s first large-scale CO2 capture facility at a cement plant. Australia also began operating its first large-scale CO2 storage project in a depleted gas field.
New regions entered the CCS market as well. bp greenlit a $7 billion project to retrofit a natural gas LNG liquefaction plant in Indonesia with CCS technology, and Kenya started construction on a small-scale direct air capture (DAC) pilot.
Government funding has played a critical role in advancing CCS projects. The UK committed $28 billion over 25 years to support CCS and low-emission hydrogen development. Denmark allocated $1.2 billion annually to build a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) hub, while Sweden pledged $1.8 billion for the Stockholm Exergi CCS project. This support has helped attract private investment; notably, the UK East Coast Cluster’s CO2 transport and storage joint venture secured over $10 billion in debt financing, marking the world’s first project-financed CCS transport and storage scheme.
Voluntary carbon markets also expanded in 2024, with off-take agreements for carbon removal doubling to nearly 6 Mt of CO2, primarily for BECCS and DAC projects.
Looking ahead, the IEA expects more large-scale projects to reach final investment decisions in 2025, including the world’s largest CO2 capture plant at a cement facility in Norway and the largest DAC plant in the United States.
If all announced projects are completed, global CO2 capture capacity could reach around 430 Mt per year by 2030, with storage capacity hitting 670 Mt annually. However, achieving this growth would require a roughly tenfold increase in investment by 2027 compared to current levels.
