Is carbon capture and storage technology viable at industrial scale?

The core challenge: slow deployment, not technical failure

The main barrier to industrial-scale CCS is not that the technology doesn't work—it's that deployment has been far too slow. A 2021 review found that if current rates of project development continue, global CO₂ storage capacity by 2050 will be around 700 million tons per year, which is only about 10% of what is required to meet net-zero targets [5]. This means that even though individual projects have proven successful, the overall pace of building new facilities is far behind what's needed.

The slow pace has multiple causes. High capital costs are a major factor: capturing CO₂ from a cement plant, for example, costs a median of $144 per ton of CO₂ [7]. For many industries, this is simply too expensive without strong financial incentives. A 2021 analysis of the energy transition notes that low oil prices have made CO₂-enhanced oil recovery unprofitable, and there is a lack of consistent government policy and public acceptance [6]. In the United States, public awareness of CCS is very low, and support for policies like subsidies drops sharply as costs rise [9].

Where the technology works—and where it struggles

CCS is technically proven in several settings, but its viability depends heavily on local geology, water availability, and the type of industry. Traditional CCS injects high-pressure, dense CO₂ below impermeable caprocks in saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs. This works well in many regions, but not everywhere. For arid regions like western Saudi Arabia, which lack such geological traps, a different approach is needed. A 2026 pilot project demonstrated that CO₂ can be stored by dissolving it in water and injecting it into reactive rocks, where it mineralizes into stable carbonates—but this normally requires 20 to 50 times more water than the mass of CO₂ stored. The project solved this by recirculating subsurface fluids, eliminating the need for external water [1]. This shows that CCS can be adapted to challenging environments, but each solution is site-specific.

New capture technologies are also emerging. An electrochemical solid-electrolyte reactor, demonstrated in 2023, achieved a capture rate of 0.137 mmol of CO₂ per minute per square centimeter (equivalent to 86.7 kg of CO₂ per day per square meter) with over 98% removal efficiency from simulated flue gas, and energy consumption as low as 150 kJ per mole of CO₂ [3]. This is promising for industrial applications, but it is still at the laboratory/pilot stage. Meanwhile, solar-driven calcium-based capture, which uses sunlight to convert CO₂ into fuels, faces challenges like material degradation and complex heat-flow coupling that must be solved before it can scale [2].

Policy and public acceptance are make-or-break

Even when the technology is ready, CCS cannot scale without supportive policies and public trust. A 2022 study of UK industrial clusters found that a 'social license to operate'—meaning trust from local communities, clear government strategy, and stable funding—is essential. The UK has high ambition, but past funding cancellations and policy changes have damaged confidence [8]. In the U.S., a 2021 survey showed that public support for CCS policies drops when costs rise and when plants are located closer to homes. Policies that ban new fossil-fuel plants without CCS were more popular than subsidies or tax increases [9].

The economics also depend on carbon pricing. A 2023 study of forest-based Bio-CCS (combining bioenergy with CCS) in the Nordic region found that at a carbon price of €300 per ton of CO₂, biofuel production increases sharply, but so does competition for biomass, driving up prices for pulpwood and sawdust. This can lead to 'carbon sequestration leakage'—where emissions are simply shifted elsewhere [4]. This highlights that CCS must be part of a broader, well-designed policy package to avoid unintended consequences.

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