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Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)
Overview
Climate efforts so far have had limited tangible results, and global emissions have continued to increase every year, as current efforts to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industries such as oil and gas, power, steel, cement, fertilizers, etc., have been inadequate. Carbon capture is one method that can remove carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from these heavy industries. Moreover, newer technologies like direct air capture (DAC) can also reduce the carbon footprints of industries that do not have active flue-stacks, such as construction and data centers, as well as non-stationary emissions from transportation. Carbon capture technologies, along with utilization and sequestration, would play a vital role in quickly decarbonizing economies over the next few decades to reach aggressive zero-emission targets.
Industry Updates
Market Sizing
The US CCUS market could reach USD 1.3 billion–7.2 billion by 2025
USD 1.3 Bn
USD 2.9 Bn
USD 7.2 Bn
COVID-19 IMPACT
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Lake Charles Methanol and Enchant Energy reported operational delays.
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TerraCOH, Oakbio, and CarbiCrete received COVID-19-led funding through government grants and relief programs for working capital needs.
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LanzaTech and Prometheus Fuels developed medical supplies such as carbon dioxide (CO2)-based sanitizers and face shields to combat COVID-19.
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Pond Technologies’ and DyeCoo’s technologies were utilized in pandemic prevention to produce algae-based antigen test kits and sustainable masks.
Market Mapping
Carbon utilization leads an industry full of seed and pre-seed startups
The next-gen carbon utilization segment has the highest number of startups followed by direct air capture (DAC) and flue-gas capture. This is likely due to the various pathways available to turn captured carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable commercial products.
There are only a few carbon sequestration startups, possibly due to challenges in commercial feasibility. The economic gain from storing captured CO2 underground is limited compared to converting it into commercial products. Meanwhile, a higher number of pre-seed and seed-stage startups suggests that the industry is at a very nascent state.
Flue-gas Capture
?Direct Air Capture (DAC)
?Next-gen Carbon Utilization
?Carbon Sequestration
?The Disruptors
Disruptors are well funded and have long been in business
The industry is well-funded. The average funding among CCUS disruptors (startups that have raised more than USD 3 million) is around USD 50 million. LanzaTech is the highest funded, having raised nearly twice as much as the next highest, Svante. Climeworks, Carbon Engineering, and Solidia Technologies are some of the others to raise more than USD 100 million.
CCUS disruptors also seem to have long operational histories despite being in a nascent industry. An average disruptor has been in operation for nearly ten years, while some of them are yet to go to market. These longer development timelines suggest the need for heavy innovation in the industry.
Flue-gas Capture
?Disruptors
LanzaTech
Svante
Carbon Clean Solutions
C-Capture
Blue Planet
NewCO2Fuels
Remora
Storegga Geotechnologies
Watchlist
Enchant Energy
Industrial Climate Solutions
New Sky Energy
Hago Energetics
TerraCOH
CarbonFree
Lake Charles Methanol
ION Clean Energy
Direct Air Capture (DAC)
?Disruptors
Climeworks
Carbon Engineering
Holy Grail
Prometheus Fuels
Storegga Geotechnologies
Global Thermostat
Watchlist
Soletair Power
Susteon
Skytree
New Sky Energy
Hago Energetics
Cambridge Carbon Capture
Carbon Collect
Hydrocell
Mission Zero Technologies
AirCapture
TerraFixing
Carbyon
Infinitree
Next-gen Carbon Utilization
?Disruptors
Pond Technologies
LanzaTech
Carbon Engineering
Solidia Technologies
Twelve
Algenol
CarbonCure Technologies
Deep Branch Biotech
Oakbio
NewCO2Fuels
DyeCoo
NovoNutrients
CFOAM
C2CNT
Prometheus Fuels
Watchlist
CCM Technologies
CarbiCrete
Soletair Power
Carbon Recycling International
Susteon
See O2 Energy
Carbon8 Systems
Carbon Upcycling Technologies
Industrial Climate Solutions
New Sky Energy
Hago Energetics
CarbonFree
Lake Charles Methanol
Cambridge Carbon Capture
Green Minerals
Kiverdi
Carbon Sequestration
?Disruptors
Blue Planet
44.01
Storegga Geotechnologies
Carbfix
Watchlist
Enchant Energy
Industrial Climate Solutions
TerraCOH
Gulf Coast Sequestration
LanzaTech
LanzaTech has developed the technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial applications and ferment them using bacteria to produce ethanol, which can be used in industrial chemicals and biofuel production. As of April 2021, LanzaTech held over 1,000 patents.
In 2018, LanzaTech partnered with Shougang Group (a leading Chinese iron and steel producer) to develop the world’s first commercial facility to convert industrial emissions to ethanol. The facility is located at the Jingtang Steel Mill in Hebei Province, China. In December 2020, LanzaTech announced that its Chinese facility had produced over 20 million gallons of ethanol from recycled steel mill emissions.
LanzaTech’s sustainable ethanol has been used in Swiss company Mibelle’s cleaning products, L’Oreal’s hair product packaging, Unilever's laundry capsules, Coty’s fragrance products, Zara’s clothing range On and Borealis’s running shoes. LanzaTech has also partnered with the German chemical company BASF to develop n-octanol at laboratory scale; the carbon transformation startup Twelve to develop polypropylene from carbon emissions; and Indian engineering company Spray Engineering Devices to convert bagasse into ethanol.
In June 2020, LanzaTech announced a new venture, LanzaJet, to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using CO2-ethanol. LanzaTech has partnered with Mitsui & Co (a Japanese conglomerate), Suncor Energy (a Canadian oil and gas producer), and All Nippon Airways (the largest airline in Japan) for this new venture. LanzaTech will initially build a demonstration plant that can produce around 10 million gallons of SAF per year and is expected to be completed by 2022. In June 2021, LanzaJet announced the world’s first commercial-scale ethanol-SAF production facility in South Wales to produce around 330 million liters of blended SAF per year. LanzaJet has also partnered with Carbon Engineering to investigate the feasibility of a commercial facility in the UK to produce more than 100 million liters of SAF per year.
The company’s most recent funding event was in December 2021, when it raised USD 30 million led by ArcelorMittal. Previously in May and July 2021, LanzaTech received funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to improve its CO2-to-ethanol technology. Moreover, in June 2020, LanzaJet raised USD 25 million from Mitsui & Co and Suncor Energy to build its proposed SAF demonstration plant.
- Segment:
- Flue-gas Capture
- Total funding:
- USD 310.4 million
- Competitors:
- Oakbio, NovoNutrients, Carbon Engineering, Twelve, Prometheus Fuels
Disruptor Funding History
Flue-gas Capture:
LanzaTech
Svante
Carbon Clean Solutions
C-Capture
Blue Planet
NewCO2Fuels
Enchant EnergyDirect Air Capture (DAC):
Climeworks
Carbon Engineering
Holy Grail
Prometheus Fuels
Soletair Power
Susteon
SkytreeNext-gen Carbon Utilization:
The Incumbents
Oil and gas players dominate flue-gas capture, while incumbent presence is limited across other segments
Incumbents dominate the flue-gas capture segment, with leading oil companies like Shell, ExxonMobil, and Oxy attempting to maintain the circularity of their operations by capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide (CO2) in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Meanwhile, companies like Dakota Gas and Air Products capture CO2 from their operations and sell it to third-party EOR operators. Incumbent activity across direct air capture (DAC), next-gen carbon utilization, and carbon sequestration segments are largely limited.
Partnerships
In-house Development
Investments/Acquisitions
Shell
ExxonMobil
Chevron
Oxy
Dakota Gas
Air Products
LafargeHolcim
BP
Covestro
Avantium
NRG Energy
Aker
SaipemShell has five carbon capture projects, either operational or under development, across the world as of September 2021.
Shell is a partner in the Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project—a 15.6 million metric ton LNG facility jointly developed by Chevron (47% equity share), ExxonMobil (25%), and Shell (25%). The partners expect to capture 3–4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from the facility. However, in July 2021, it was reported that the project had fallen short of its carbon capture target having captured only five million tons since it went online in August 2019.
Shell has also invested in Quest, a carbon capture and storage project in Canada with a capacity of around one million metric tons of CO2 per year. Carbon capture technology developed by Shell Cansolv is also in use at the Boundary Dam power station in Canada, capturing around one million metric tons of CO2 per year. Most of the captured CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations and the rest is stored underground. Other planned projects include Northern Lights (Norway) and Polaris (Canada).
Shell, Equinor, and Total (each holding an 8.7% equity) have also partnered with the ??Norwegian State to develop Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM)—the world’s largest test center for developing CO2 capture technologies.
