In Short : Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) continues to gain traction as supportive policies and financing initiatives offset project delays and cost challenges. Governments and investors are strengthening incentives, funding mechanisms, and infrastructure planning to accelerate deployment. Although cancellations and high capital costs persist, growing policy clarity and financial backing are sustaining long-term momentum and positioning CCUS as a key decarbonization solution.
In Detail : Efforts to expand carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) took some important steps forward in 2025. Despite delays and cancellations in some areas, projects reached notable milestones in key markets, while growing financing provided further momentum.
CCUS deployment in Europe saw a step-change as the world’s first dedicated carbon dioxide CO2 storage hub began operating in Norway. Major projects were also commissioned in China and North America, and the construction of new facilities began in eight countries worldwide. The newest annual update to the IEA’s CCUS Project Database – which incorporates developments between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 – found that capture capacity that was operational or under construction during this period was over 10% higher than in the previous Database update, which covered the first quarter of 2024 through the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, storage capacity increased by around 25%. In terms of future prospects, the total potential capture capacity remained at similar levels of around 425 million tonnes (Mt) – although the timeline for deploying much of this planned capacity has been pushed back towards 2035 amid delays in permitting and construction, as well as broader market uncertainties.
Insights from our forthcoming publication, Financing CCUS at Scale, show that more than USD 15 billion in commercial debt has been raised over the past two years – almost exclusively in markets where the government reduced risks across CO2 capture, transport and storage, providing enough certainty and confidence for lenders and investors to step in.
This suggests that new CCUS policies are helping spread project risks across the public and private sectors, which in turn is allowing unprecedented levels of private capital to flow into projects. Ensuring this extends beyond a small number of projects, however, will require additional policy support to enable viable business models and target specific risks that need to be addressed for more projects to reach final investment decisions (FIDs).
