The Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) sector will be the lucky recipient of tremendous growth. In fact, recent project announcements show a jaw-dropping compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49% from 2025-2030. By the end of this decade, experts estimate that CCUS capacity will surpass 812 mtpa. This growth will be from 474 active projects currently in the pipeline. This trend is both a sign of increasing determination to cut carbon emissions and a testament to major technical and financial breakthroughs.
North America—especially the U.S.—is projected to continue to play a leadership role in the global CCUS landscape. The region is projected to represent around 35% of the world’s total CCS capacity by 2030. The driving forces behind this growth are national incentives and policies focused on encouraging the advancement of CCUS projects.
By the end of the decade, post-combustion capture technology is poised to become the dominant CCUS technology in the market. That’s right – it will represent an astounding 73% of the entire national capture capacity. CCS technology has developed to the point that it can efficiently scrub carbon dioxide from flue gases produced by combusting fossil fuels. It is a key component in many power generation facilities.
Today, natural gas processing ranks as the top industry to deploy CCUS technology. Power generation is on track to become the biggest sector deploying CCUS technologies by 2030. This exciting new step signals clear, bipartisan momentum and acceptance of carbon capture technologies across industries and sectors. Intense investor appetite, amplified by venture capital money, helps innovative carbon capture solutions take root.
Standalone storage capacity is poised for exciting expansion. It’s on track to realize a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 59% between 2025 and 2030. This trend reflects a broader national trend toward permanent, geological storage solutions. These breakthroughs improve the permanence of the carbon captured and sequestered, answering critics’ worries about the environmental risks of underground storage over time.
Much of the expected CCUS capacity has already made it through the feasibility stage. Currently, 67.5% of the entire capacity expected to be built by 2030 has moved into more advanced stages of development. That’s a good sign of a healthy pipeline of projects primed for speedy implementation.
In the first half of 2025, successful major capital raises have generated a wave of enthusiasm for CCUS projects. Now investors are impatiently looking toward the next generation of carbon capture technologies. Given the likelihood of more project announcements through the course of 2024, this trend is clearly helping to improve the overall capacity outlook for 2030.