Global operating carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity is expected to exceed 100 million tons per annum (Mtpa) as projects currently under construction come online, according to new data from the Global CCS Institute’s Global Status of CCS 2026 report published ahead of COP31.

The total number of commercial CCS facilities operating worldwide has more than quadrupled since 2021 to 113 projects, spanning sectors such as clean hydrogen, ammonia, cement, natural gas processing, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

Thirty years after the commissioning of the world’s first major geological storage project at Sleipner, Norway, cumulative historical CO2 injection has exceeded 400 million tons globally.

Europe has emerged as the primary operational testbed for connected, cross-border carbon management. The region currently hosts 15 operational commercial projects and 21 under construction, with a total regional project development pipeline reaching 141 Mtpa.

The defining structural development in the European market is the transition away from dedicated single-emitter projects toward open-access, cross-border transport and storage networks.

This model is demonstrated by operational deployments such as Northern Lights in Norway, which began commercial injection into the Aurora reservoir in August 2025 and is currently executing its Phase 2 expansion, and Denmark’s Greensand project. Facilities like Yara’s fertilizer plant in the Netherlands are actively shipping captured CO2 to Norway for subsea geological storage, establishing commercial carbon management as a third-party service.

To support cross-border trade, European governments have signed a series of bilateral frameworks, including agreements between Finland and Norway, Finland and Denmark, Switzerland and Denmark, Belgium and Norway, and Belgium and the UK.

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