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Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS)

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) encompasses technologies that capture CO₂ emissions from industrial facilities, gas processing plants and fossil-fuel power stations before they enter the atmosphere. Once captured, CO₂ is compressed and transported by pipelines or ships for permanent storage in deep geological formations, or used as feedstock for products such as synthetic fuels, chemicals or construction materials. The International Energy Agency (IEA) highlights CCUS as a critical lever for reducing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, chemicals and gas processing.[1] 

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), achieving global net-zero emission by 2050 would require around 6 Gt of CO₂ per year to be captured and stored by 2040 and more than 8 Gt per year by 2050, across industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS), bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), direct air capture with storage (DACCS) and other carbon-removal pathways. IRENA characterizes the role of carbon capture as “moderate but indispensable” in 1.5°C global energy transition scenario.[2]

Main outcomes of the solution 

  • Sustainability: Delivers durable emissions reductions by capturing CO₂ at industrial sites and storing it permanently in suitable geological formations, while enabling utilization pathways that provide verifiable long-term climate value. 
  • System Resilience: Provides a predictable, infrastructure-based abatement route that supports industrial compliance with tightening climate policies, offering stable, weather-independent emissions mitigation where appropriate geological storage is available. 
  • Reliability & Flexibility: Enables reliable production of low-carbon hydrogen, ammonia and natural gas, and supports scalable multi-emitter cluster-based participation through shared CO₂ transport and storage systems that help distribute costs and risks. 

Key deployment and scaling factors 

  1. Conduct reservoir characterization and injection-capacity assessments, and develop monitoring frameworks to assess long-term storage integrity, capacity and permanence. 
  2. Develop shared CO₂ pipeline, compression and storage hubs to reduce costs and streamline multi-emitter participation. 
  3. Develop and implement regulatory frameworks covering permitting, long-term liability, reporting requirements and cross-border CO₂ transportation. 
  4. Use modular capture technologies to reduce installation timelines and standardize integration with industrial processes. 
  5. Establish commercial models for long-term offtake, transport and storage services to enable cost-sharing across clusters. 
  6. Coordinate closely among industrial operators, pipeline developers, technology vendors and geological agencies to accelerate project delivery. 
  7. Deploy digital monitoring systems and advanced subsurface modelling to ensure safe, permanent storage performance over time. 
  8. Advance credible standards for emissions accounting and reporting for CCS power generation projects.

Case Studies

Petronas, MMHE, NPCC, McDermott and Baker Hughes (Expected 2026), Malaysia 

Petronas’ Kasawari CCS project in the SK316 gas field offshore Sarawak is designed to capture and store up to 3.3 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, making it one of the largest offshore CCS developments in Asia and globally. CO₂ separated during gas production will be compressed and transported through a subsea pipeline to the depleted M1 reservoir for permanent geological storage. The project is being developed by Petronas Carigali, with engineering contributions from MMHE, NPCC, McDermott and Baker Hughes. 

Kasawari forms a central element of Malaysia’s strategy to build regional CO₂ storage capacity by leveraging existing offshore assets and favorable geological potential. It demonstrates how large natural-gas operations in Southeast Asia can integrate CCUS at scale, supporting emissions reduction while laying foundation for future multi-emitter transport and storage networks. [3,4,5,8]

Low Carbon Infrastructure and Google (2025), USA 

The Broadwing Energy project in Decatur, Illinois is a natural-gas cogeneration power plant of over 400 MW and greater than 1,500,000 lbs. steam per hour under development by Low Carbon Infrastructure (LCI) and designed with integrated post-combustion carbon capture targeting around 90% CO₂ removal. The Broadwing plant will produce power for Google as well as power and steam for Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). The captured CO₂ is expected to be transported to EPA Class VI geological storage wells operated by ADM, which has already carried out nearly a decade of commercial-scale CO₂ injection, storage and monitoring at their Decatur site.  

Under a long-term agreement to procure clean, firm electricity, Google intends to use Broadwing as part of its strategy to secure round-the-clock decarbonized power for its data-center operations. The project will also incorporate a new standard for CCS-specific Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), developed by industry experts to ensure CSS projects can be accurately quantified in emissions reporting. [6] The project shows how CCS can be paired with dispatchable gas generation to support reliable, lower-carbon supply in systems with rising electricity demand. Broadwing is the first project in a longer-term collaboration between Google and LCI highlighting an emerging replicable procurement model in which corporate clean power commitments help enable investment in firm low-carbon assets and early development of next-generation CCS projects in the US power sector.[7]

Pertamina, J-Power, JANUS, JGC and ITB (2025), Indonesia 

The Gundih CCS pilot in Central Java is Indonesia’s first planned onshore carbon-capture and storage project. The design targets the capture of around 300,000 tons of CO₂ per year from the natural-gas processing stream at the Gundih Gas Field, with compression and injection into the nearby Kedungtuban geological structure for permanent storage. The project is being developed by Pertamina in collaboration with J-Power, JGC Corporation, JANUS, and the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), building on feasibility work supported through Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism.[8,9]

Technical studies to date include reservoir characterization, seismic surveying and front-end engineering design for capture, compression and monitoring systems. While injection operations have not yet begun, the feasibility work indicates an estimated total storage potential of around 3 million tons of CO₂ over a 10-year injection period, subject to reservoir performance and regulatory approvals.[8,9]

Gundih is intended to demonstrate the technical and regulatory foundations for CCS deployment in Indonesia following the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 14/2024 on CCS/CCUS.[10] The project is expected to help build domestic storage expertise, validate Indonesia’s onshore storage capacity and provide an early model for integrating CCS into natural-gas operations across the ASEAN region.  


References:

  1. Net Zero Roadmap: A Global Pathway to Keep the 1.5C Goal in Reach I IEA (2023)
  2. Carbon Capture I IRENA
  3. McDermott Secures Offshore Contract for the Kasawari Carbon Capture and Storage Project in Malaysia I McDermott (January 2024)
  4. Kasawari Gas Development Project, Sarawak, Malaysia I Offshore Technology (February 2023)
  5. PETRONAS Carigali Reaches Final Investment Decision for Kasawari CCS Project Offshore Sarawak I Petronas (November 2022)
  6. Carbon Capture and Storage Energy Attribute Certificates
  7. Our first carbon capture and storage project I Google (October 2025)
  8. CCUS Activities in Indonesia (October 2020)
  9. Innovation can accelerate Southeast Asia's energy transition I Atlantic Council (October 2024)
  10. Indonesia Moves to Provide Solid Legal Basis for Carbon Capture & Storage I ABNR (April 2024)

Category
AI, Digital & Tech
Sub-category
Power Assets & Flexibility Enablers
Outcomes
Sustainability, System Resilience, Reliability & Flexibility
Case Study Regions
South-East Asia, North America
Case Study Countries
Malaysia, Indonesia, USA

Future of Power Systems

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