DNV’s new Energy Transition Outlook: CCS to 2050 report finds that global carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity is at a turning point, with capture and storage capacity expected to quadruple by 2030.
Up to the end of the decade, cumulative investments in CCS are projected to reach USD 80 billion.
Today’s CCS deployment is limited and largely tied to pilot projects, but a surge in capacity in the project pipeline, especially in North America and Europe, marks a shift to commercial scale.
Natural gas processing remains the dominant application in the short term.
From 2030 onwards, steel, cement and other hard‑to‑decarbonize industries are forecast to account for 41 % of annual CO₂ captured by mid‑century, while maritime onboard capture may begin scaling in parts of the global fleet during the 2040s.
DNV projects that CCS will grow from 41 MtCO₂/yr today to 1,300 MtCO₂/yr by 2050, representing approximately 6 % of global emissions—well below levels needed for net‑zero goals.
The average cost of CCS is expected to decline by 40 % by mid‑century.
“Carbon capture and storage technologies are a necessity for ensuring that CO₂ emitted by fossil‑fuel combustion is stopped from reaching the atmosphere and for keeping the goals of the Paris Agreement alive,” said Ditlev Engel, CEO of Energy Systems at DNV.
He added that while deployment remains off pace, “corrective action will need to be taken by government and industry if we are to close the gap between ambition and reality.”
Jamie Burrows, Global Segment Lead CCUS at DNV, commented: “CCS is entering a pivotal decade and the scale of ambition and investment must increase dramatically … delays in reducing carbon dioxide emissions will place an even greater burden on carbon dioxide removal technologies.”
The report highlights several key risks: economic turmoil, budgetary pressures and policy uncertainty that could stall CCS expansion.
The study also forecasts that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will account for 330 MtCO₂ in 2050, about 25 % of total captured emissions, driven by bioenergy with CCS.
Direct air capture remains costly (USD 350/tCO₂) but is projected to capture 84 MtCO₂ by 2050. 3
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