The limitations of CCUS

The Structural Limits of CCUS and Implications for Long-Term Decarbonisation Clean Energy and Water Technologies Pty Ltd (CEWT) Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) has contributed to near-term emissions mitigation; however, its structural limitations become increasingly material as decarbonisation strategies shift toward long-duration infrastructure and system transformation. CCUS operates as a fundamentally linear model in which carbon is captured after fuel use and transferred to storage, creating cumulative storage volumes, long-term monitoring obligations, and enduring balance-sheet and regulatory liabilities over multi-decade asset lives. From an economic standpoint, CCUS does not structurally reduce fuel dependency. Energy output remains directly linked to ongoing fossil fuel input, exposing projects to long-term fuel price escalation and supply volatility. As carbon prices rise, CCUS systems increasingly depend on policy support, subsidies, or regulated cost recovery, raising questions about scalability and capital efficiency at the system level. At a system level, CCUS relocates carbon rather than reintegrating it into productive use. This limits its ability to support emerging demand for firm, dispatchable, low-emissions baseload power required by digital infrastructure, data centres, green steel, aluminium, and other energy-intensive industries. These sectors require solutions that embed carbon management within the energy system itself rather than relying on perpetual disposal. Looking forward, the decarbonisation challenge is shifting from managing emissions to eliminating the creation of new linear carbon liabilities. Systems that depend on indefinite storage face increasing regulatory scrutiny, long-term stewardship risk, and declining social licence as circular alternatives mature. As a result, CCUS is increasingly best viewed as a transitional or bridging mechanism rather than a terminal solution for net-zero systems.