Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation Technologies (CCS/CCU)—3rd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

This is a call for papers for the topic “Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation Technologies (CCS/CCU)—3rd Edition”.

The scientific community agrees that the release and accumulation of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, mainly deriving from fossil-fuelled power plants, are among the main contributors to global warming. Therefore, reducing these CO₂ emissions is of paramount importance. In particular, aiming at keeping any increase in global temperature well below 2°C by the end of this century, according to the Paris Agreement, the European Union has set a binding target to cut at least 40% of the CO₂ emissions by 2030 compared to 1990, and by 30% compared to 2005.

Although the transition of the existing infrastructure from carbon-based sources to cleaner alternatives would be ideal in this regard, such a change requires considerable modifications to the current energy framework, and many of the proposed technologies are not yet sufficiently developed to facilitate large-scale industrial implementation. In this framework, carbon capture and storage/utilisation (CCS/CCU) technologies that efficiently capture CO₂ from existing emission sources will play a vital role, until more significant modifications to the energy infrastructure can be realised.

Over the last decade, CCS/CCUS has moved from a largely conceptual mitigation option to a more established set of technologies, with a growing number of large‑scale facilities in operation and an expanding global project pipeline supported by new policy and investment frameworks. Recent advances span solvent‑ and sorbent‑based capture processes, membrane and cryogenic systems, integrated capture–conversion schemes, and novel storage concepts and hub infrastructures, alongside extensive work on techno‑economic analysis, life‑cycle assessments, and regulatory frameworks. Despite this progress, challenges remain in reducing energy penalties and costs, scaling up flexible and modular solutions, ensuring long‑term storage integrity, integrating CCS/CCUS with renewable and low‑carbon energy vectors, and assessing environmental and social impacts at system level.

The topic “Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation Technologies (CCS/CCU)—3rd Edition” aims at publishing high‑quality experimental and review papers, as well as short communications, that address these frontiers and discuss the latest technical developments and scientific advances of CCS/CCUS technologies beyond the consolidated state of the art. Contributions that address (individually or in combination) the following areas are particularly encouraged:

• Innovative CO₂ capture and transport solutions, including novel processes and materials, process‑intensified schemes, and pipeline‑ and ship‑based transport concepts for emerging CCUS networks and hubs.
• Storage and sequestration options, such as geological storage in saline aquifers and depleted reservoirs, as well as alternative or hybrid sequestration routes.
• CO₂ utilisation pathways that are technically, environmentally, and economically viable, for example, as feedstock for value‑added chemicals and fuels, in EOR/ECBM/EGS, mineralization processes, and algae‑based or other circular carbon systems.
• Cross‑cutting assessment and integration studies, including life‑cycle assessment (LCA), techno‑economic and risk analyses of CCUS systems and their deployment in clusters, and their coupling with hydrogen, bioenergy, and negative‑emission technologies in support of net‑zero strategies.

Dr. Federica Raganati
Dr. Paola Ammendola
Topic Editors