CCUS: The backbone of new industrial value chains

Kuwait

António Azevedo Campos, co-founder and CEO of Hub2Energy, talks to The Energy Year about the global coming of age of CCUS technologies and Kuwait’s potential to become a regional leader in CCUS deployment. Hub2Energy is a Kuwait-based technology enabler specialising in decarbonisation, digitalisation and industrial transformation for the energy industry.

What is Hub2Energy’s assessment of CCUS technology today?
At Hub2Energy, we are excited about CCUS. This technology is not new and is no longer a theoretical solution, but is maturing into a pillar of industrial decarbonisation. According to the Global CCS Institute’s 2024 Status Report, there are more than 628 CCUS projects in development worldwide – up more than 60% year-on-year – with 65 facilities in operation, capturing around 57 million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide.
More than 247 projects are now in FEED or construction phases, with momentum accelerating fast. We are past the phase of pilots and case studies, and today we are seeing real demand, deployment and investment appetite, especially in the GCC, where oil and gas will remain part of the energy system for decades to come.
We don’t see CCUS as a compliance tool, but as an enabler. It underpins hydrogen scale-up, enables negative emissions, decarbonises hard-to-abate sectors and creates new economic value. This is where innovation, climate impact and industrial pragmatism intersect.
Furthermore, with the costs of CCUS decreasing, and technology allowing us to tackle carbon dioxide from the production of cement, polyols, synthetic fuels and other products, we believe that CCUS should be viewed as a technology working in tandem with alternative energy to form a resilient net-zero ecosystem.

What are the biggest challenges when it comes to carbon dioxide storage, and what solutions does Hub2Energy suggest?
Subsurface storage is both our strongest asset and our biggest challenge. In Kuwait, realising the full value of storage requires going beyond basic reservoir characterisation.
That is why, after deep engagement with Kuwait public organisations, we have developed a forensic-grade subsurface intelligence approach that integrates biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, seal integrity analysis and data science to map Kuwait’s subsurface with a level of precision that de-risks not only CCUS, but also offshore development and mineral resource potential.
On the regulatory side, the industry still lacks certainty, international alignment and investor-grade transparency, which will be key to driving the industry forward. To foster the development of these elements, we support global efforts such as the CO2 Storage Resource Catalogue by the OGCI [Oil and Gas Climate Initiative]. It offers clear information about the storage that exists, where it is and at what maturity level, which is essential to attracting capital and accelerating project deployment.
As the CCSA continues to highlight in Europe, regulatory alignment and certification frameworks will be just as important as engineering and geoscience in scaling this market.

Do you have any ongoing CCUS projects?
One of the most exciting initiatives we are engaged in is with KISR [Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research], a full-cycle project linking direct air capture to carbon dioxide utilisation in an algae-based production system. It is an integrated model that combines carbon removal, storage and valorisation, and demonstrates the potential for circular carbon economies in arid climates.
We follow a sink-first strategy. That means starting with locations where we already have high confidence in the geological formations, clear permitting pathways and strong public acceptance. Once that foundation is in place, we can build capture infrastructure.
The key to successfully deploying and scaling CCUS systems is not only to focus on where emissions are, but to identify where storage is available, bankable and permitted. This is a critical mindset shift: moving the conversation away from just emissions to storage readiness. Storage capacity, not emissions footprint, should define where we deploy first.
This is the idea behind Northern Lights in Norway and Porthos in the Netherlands, and although we see promise for these technologies in Europe, our focus is on the Gulf. The GCC offers a compelling combination of political alignment, industrial maturity and urgency to transition.
It’s not about greenshoring, but about building a globally competitive CCUS ecosystem anchored in shared infrastructure and harmonised regulation. If executed well, the GCC could emerge as a frontrunner in scalable carbon storage solutions.

What is Hub2Energy’s assessment of the potential for CCUS specifically in Kuwait?
Kuwait has the foundations to lead. But leadership won’t come just from legacy; it will come from execution. The country has deep subsurface knowledge, robust institutional frameworks and already has among the world’s lowest production emissions per barrel. But to responsibly scale up toward Kuwait’s 4 million bopd production capacity target, we need to do more.
CCUS is not just an opportunity, it’s a strategic necessity. It ensures that production growth aligns with environmental responsibility, international expectations and long-term energy security.
We are focused on pairing decarbonisation with digitalisation. That means embedding real-time monitoring, AI-driven analytics and MRV [measurement, reporting and verification] protocols into every stage, from wellhead to storage basin. It is not enough to inject carbon dioxide. We have to track it, verify it, and certify it – and turn that trust into market value.
We are also proud to be active members of the CCSA, working across Europe and the Middle East to advance frameworks that translate CCUS potential into commercial reality.

What is your message to the industry regarding the future of CCUS?
We have moved beyond the point of proving CCUS. The question now is: Who will build it fast enough, credibly enough and at scale?
At the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, one message that stood out is that demand is growing – and so is responsibility. OPEC projects that global demand will reach 123 million bopd by 2050, driven largely by the Global South.
Meeting that demand sustainably will require more than hydrocarbons; it will require USD 18.2 trillion in cumulative investment across the energy system by 2050, up from USD 17.4 trillion just one year earlier. That delta is the cost of integration, and having CCUS, hydrogen, digital infrastructure, renewables and energy efficiency all working together.
CCUS is also a commercial necessity. We are seeing this across geographies, from the GCC to Europe and across sectors. Carbon utilisation is forming the backbone of new industrial value chains, creating products, unlocking revenue and strengthening global competitiveness.
With COP30 on the horizon, we don’t need more declarations. We need certified storage, market-aligned regulation, trusted measurement systems and capital that moves with confidence. The countries and companies that lead in carbon dioxide storage readiness, infrastructure deployment and transparency will define the next chapter of global energy economics.
At Hub2Energy, we don’t talk about transitions in the abstract. We focus on “transitions in action” and delivering cross-border infrastructure, climate-grade permitting and public-private partnerships that accelerate deployment on the ground.
The future must serve all people, all energies, all technologies. It is a call to integrate CCUS, hydrogen, Power-to-X, digital infrastructure, nuclear, renewables and low-carbon fuels into credible, scalable systems.
The message is to step into this space boldly. This isn’t just about managing carbon, it’s about shaping the energy system of the 21st century. We need engineers, data scientists, policy architects and system thinkers who understand both industrial realities and climate urgency.
To my peers in oil and gas, I say that this is our moment to show that we are not part of the problem but central to the solution. This is not a time for energy binaries, but for systems thinking. CCUS is our bridge to a new industrial model, and we must build it with humility, urgency and global collaboration.

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