Carbon capture market seen topping $8 billion by 2030

The Business Research Company says the carbon capture market is set to surpass $8 billion by 2030, driven by stricter emissions rules, decarbonization spending and demand from hard-to-abate industries. Asia-Pacific is projected to lead regional growth, while the U.S. remains the largest single-country market.

Why it matters: - Carbon capture is moving from niche climate technology to a larger industrial infrastructure market as regulators, investors and manufacturers push for lower emissions. - The market’s projected growth points to more spending on capture equipment, transport networks and storage systems across power, heavy industry and maritime uses. - The shift matters most for hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, chemicals and oil and gas, where cutting emissions without stopping production is especially difficult.

What happened: - The Business Research Company projected the global carbon capture market will exceed $8 billion by 2030. - The market is forecast to grow at a 11% compound annual growth rate through 2030. - The report said Asia-Pacific will be the largest regional market by 2030 at $2.5 billion, up from $1.4 billion in 2025. - The U.S. is projected to remain the largest single-country market in 2030 at $1.8 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2025.

The details: - Stricter emission regulations are the main growth driver, especially for power generation, cement, steel and chemicals. - The report estimated regulation will contribute about 2.0% annual growth to the market. - Investment in decarbonization projects is expected to add about 1.0% annual growth. - Rising demand for low-carbon industrial processes is projected to contribute about 0.8% annual growth. - Across technology segments, post-combustion, industrial process, pre-combustion and oxy-combustion methods are expected to add more than $3.4 billion in value by 2030. - Post-combustion is forecast to grow by $2 billion between 2025 and 2030. - Industrial process capture is projected to grow by $1 billion over the same period. - Oxy-combustion is expected to add $0.3 billion, and pre-combustion $0.1 billion. - Post-combustion is projected to hold the largest share in 2030 at $4 billion, or half the market. - The market includes adsorption systems, absorption systems, membrane separation units, compression and transport infrastructure, and monitoring and storage support. - Services in the market include system design and engineering, equipment supply, installation, operations and maintenance, transport management, and storage or utilization support. - Applications include carbon dioxide storage, utilization and transportation. - End-use sectors include oil and gas, power generation, cement, steel, chemicals, waste management, and pulp and paper. - The top 10 companies accounted for 34% of total revenue in 2025. - ExxonMobil held a 6% share in 2025. - Equinor, Shell and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries each held 5%. - Schlumberger held 4%, while Fluor and Linde each held 3%. - Climeworks, Carbon Engineering and Carbon Clean Solutions each held 1%. - ExxonMobil’s low carbon solutions division offers integrated carbon capture, transportation and storage services.

Between the lines: - The market is still concentrated because capture projects require expensive engineering, storage infrastructure and specialized expertise. - Stronger regional growth in Asia-Pacific suggests industrial decarbonization is becoming a bigger capital priority in China, India, Japan and South Korea. - The rise of onboard CO2 capture shows the market is expanding beyond stationary plants into shipping and other mobile industrial uses. - In May 2025, Wärtsilä launched its Wärtsilä Carbon Capture Solution after a large-scale installation aboard Solvang ASA’s Clipper Eris, a 21,000 cubic meter ethylene carrier. - Wärtsilä said the system can cut vessel emissions by up to 70%.

What’s next: - The report expects continued investment in capture facilities, carbon transport networks and storage infrastructure. - Future growth will likely depend on how quickly governments tighten emissions rules and how fast industry scales projects that can capture carbon at commercial levels. - Competition is expected to focus on next-generation solvents, direct air capture, carbon utilization and strategic partnerships for storage and transport. - The report also points to new analytics for 2026, including market attractiveness scoring, TAM analysis, company scoring matrices, forecasting dashboards and hotspot infographics.

The bottom line: - Carbon capture is emerging as a long-duration growth market, with regulation, industrial decarbonization and infrastructure buildout driving demand through the end of the decade.