As countries work to meet their climate commitments, the number of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage facilities around the world has doubled to 50 in the past 5 years.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is used to reduce CO2 emissions from high-emission sectors such as cement, iron and steel, hydrogen, chemical, ethanol, and fertilizer production, as well as from fossil fuel and waste-to-energy power plants.
This technology allows a large portion of the emissions from power plants and industrial chimneys to be captured before reaching the atmosphere.
The captured CO2 is then transported through pipelines or by tankers to underground storage sites—usually abandoned oil and gas fields, coal seams, or other geologic formations found around the world.
US leads with most facilities
Operational CCS facilities across 11 countries totaled 50 last year—nearly double the 26 facilities in 9 countries recorded in 2020, according to reports by the Global CCS Institute.
The US, which built the world's first CCS facility in 1972, continues to lead the field with 19 active sites, followed by China with 14 facilities and Canada with seven.
The remaining 10 facilities are spread across Norway and Iceland with two each, while Hungary, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Australia each have one active facility.
Together, these facilities stored about 51 million tons of CO2 underground last year—a 27.5% increase compared to 40 million tons stored in 2020.
40 more facilities under construction
Recognizing its importance in the fight against climate change, countries have significantly increased their investments in CCS, leading to a sharp rise in projects worldwide over the past five years.
Currently, 40 facilities are under construction across 14 countries. Of these, 11 are in the US, with the Netherlands, China, and Canada each building 5.
Norway, the UAE, Qatar, and Denmark are each developing 2 new facilities.
The remaining 6 projects are being built in Oman, Australia, Iceland, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia.
These facilities are expected to begin operations by 2027.
Also, 334 CCS projects are in various stages of development globally.
(Anadolu Agency, April 17, 2025)