Decarbonization:
Status, Challenges, and Policy Options for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage
Many technologies for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) are ready for wider demonstration or deployment, but multiple challenges limit their use. Carbon capture includes technologies that separate and purify carbon dioxide (CO2) from a source, which could be an industrial facility (point-source capture) or the atmosphere (direct air capture). Applications of capture technologies at point sources are mature in some sectors (e.g., natural gas processing) but require further demonstration in some of the highest-emitting sectors (e.g., power generation). Direct air capture is not as mature, but has been implemented at pilot scale. Lengthy time to deployment and high costs hinder widespread deployment of both types of carbon capture in the near term.
Technologies for transporting, storing, and directly using captured CO2 are mature. Companies are beginning to commercialize utilization technologies that convert captured CO2 into valuable products such as ethanol, sustainable aviation fuel, and mineral aggregates. However, many CO2-based products are not competitive with conventional products, may be excluded from the market by industry standards, and lack a standardized method for ensuring they effectively reduce CO2 emissions.
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