Carbon Capture, Storage & Utilization (CCUS)
Challenge & Opportunity
Even with rapid growth in clean energy and electrification, some emissions are extremely difficult to eliminate. Cement, steel, chemicals, aviation, and existing power plants all produce carbon dioxide as part of their fundamental processes. Without addressing these sources, global climate targets remain out of reach.
Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization (CCUS) offers a way to manage these unavoidable emissions. By capturing CO₂ at the source, or directly from the air, and either storing it permanently underground or using it to create valuable products, CCUS helps close the gap between today’s reality and a net-zero future.
The opportunity is not to delay decarbonization, but to enable it where other solutions fall short.
Point-Source Carbon Capture
Installed at industrial facilities, capture systems prevent CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. This approach is particularly relevant for cement, steel, and chemical production, where emissions are process-based and difficult to avoid.
Direct Air Capture (DAC)
DAC systems remove CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, independent of where it was emitted. While currently energy-intensive, DAC offers a scalable path to carbon removal and is increasingly supported by governments and corporations seeking high-quality removal credits.
Geologic Carbon Storage
Captured CO₂ can be injected deep underground into stable rock formations, where it is permanently stored. Properly designed storage systems offer long-term climate security.
Carbon Utilization
Captured CO₂ can be converted into fuels, building materials, and industrial products. While utilization alone cannot absorb all emissions, it helps reduce costs and creates economic value from captured carbon.
Together, these approaches form a toolkit for managing emissions that cannot yet be eliminated.
Managing Carbon Where Emissions Are Hardest to Eliminate
Examples
Svante
Developing advanced solid-sorbent carbon capture technology to efficiently capture CO₂ from industrial sources, enabling large-scale emissions reduction across hard-to-abate sectors.
www.svanteinc.com
Climeworks
A global leader in direct air capture, building large-scale DAC facilities that permanently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.
www.climeworks.com
Econic
Converting captured CO₂ into valuable chemicals and polymers, replacing fossil-based inputs and enabling lower-carbon materials for everyday products at industrial scale.
Companies Making an Impact
Category
Climate Impact
Innovation Momentum
Scalability
Real-World Adoption
CCUS
Climate Impact And Readiness Assessment (CIARA)
Score
8/10
8/10
6/10
5/10
Overall CIARA Score: 6.75/ 10
Carbon capture and removal are essential complements to emissions reduction — difficult, imperfect, and increasingly unavoidable.
Why it Matters
CCUS addresses emissions that are otherwise unavoidable and enables net-zero pathways.
Rapid advances in capture materials, DAC systems, and storage monitoring are underway.
Deployment is capital-intensive and dependent on infrastructure and policy support.
Early projects are operational, but large-scale adoption is still emerging.