Picture a factory-sized machine that does just one job — pull carbon dioxide out of the air we breathe, then bury it deep underground to vanish forever. It sounds like magic, and in a way it nearly is — because CO2 makes up just 0.04% of the air, pulling it back out is the most expensive, most energy-hungry job of every climate fix there is. This is the story of a technology that scientists call "essential" but the market still calls "too expensive."
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Direct Air Capture (DAC)
Vallourec Wins Prinos CO2 Storage Contract in Greece
Vallourec has been selected by EnEarth, a subsidiary of Energean, to supply premium tubular solutions for the first phase of the Prinos CO2 Carbon Storage project in Greece. The contract covers approximately 3,000 tons of casing pipes and accessories, including seamless carbon steel and corrosion-resistant alloy casing pipes equipped with VAM premium connections and Vallourec's CLEANWELL dope-free solution. Located offshore Greece, Prinos CO2 aims to convert a depleted oil reservoir into a permanent CO2 storage site with a targeted injection capacity of up to 2.8 million tons per year and a total proved plus probable storage capacity of 51.5 million tons, according to NSAI's independent Competent Person's Report. The project is recognized by the European Union as a Project of Common Interest and is supported by European and Greek funding programs. Vallourec Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Philippe Guillemot said the award demonstrates confidence in the company's ability to meet the stringent integrity and reliability requirements of permanent CO2 storage, while EnEarth Head of Carbon Storage Nikolas Rigas called Prinos one of the first large-scale Carbon Capture and Storage developments to be built in Europe and the first of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean.
ExxonMobil Low-Carbon Units Seen Adding $1 Billion a Year by 2030
ExxonMobil plans to invest roughly $20 billion in lower-emission projects between 2025 and 2030, and management expects newer business segments including carbon capture and storage, lithium, carbon materials, and Proxxima products to generate more than $1 billion in annual earnings by 2030, with roughly $13 billion in potential annual earnings by 2040 assuming supportive policies and sufficient market development. The company already holds contracts covering roughly 9 million metric tons of CO2 annually from industrial customers, and its first commercial carbon capture projects are now operating, which should give management enough commercial activity by 2027 to offer investors better visibility into what carbon capture can contribute financially. The bet is framed against a shifting oil demand picture: more than 20 million electric cars were sold globally in 2025, about one-quarter of all new-car sales, and the International Energy Agency expects EVs to approach 29% of global car sales in 2026, with the existing EV fleet displacing roughly 1.7 million barrels of oil demand per day in 2025 and potentially around 5 million barrels per day by 2030. ExxonMobil is also developing carbon-capture-enabled data center projects that would use natural gas to generate electricity while capturing the resulting emissions. The prediction is that 2027 is when ExxonMobil's low-carbon investments start showing up more clearly in guidance.
BANPU benefits as BKV closes Barnett Shale gas deal, adding 6.6% to production
Banpu Public Company Limited, or BANPU, is set to benefit after BKV, in which BANPU holds a 63.3% stake, announced the closing of a transaction to acquire new upstream, midstream and carbon capture and storage assets in the Barnett Shale natural gas field in Texas, United States. The deal was funded with BKV's cash together with borrowings under a revolving credit facility, though the transaction value was not disclosed. The acquired assets have production capacity of about 65 million cubic feet equivalent per day, of which more than 50% is liquid hydrocarbons. Proved and producing reserves stand at approximately 0.35 trillion cubic feet equivalent, covering roughly 117,000 acres, with about 1,000 producing wells, a gas processing plant with capacity of 180 million cubic feet per day, a gas pipeline system of about 340 miles, and a CCS project capable of capturing and storing roughly 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Compared with BKV's current gas production of 978 million cubic feet equivalent per day, this represents about 6.6% of its existing production base. The US gas business accounted for about 24% of total EBITDA in 2025. Asia Plus Securities therefore maintained its fair value for BANPU at 17 baht per share and recommended gradually accumulating the stock on weakness to capture the expected second-half 2026 earnings trend, which is forecast to be better than the first half on seasonal factors.
BANPU announces BKV completes acquisition of Barnett gas assets, reducing reliance on coal
BANPU informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that BKV Corporation, a subsidiary 72.6% held by BANPU and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, completed its acquisition of new assets related to upstream, midstream, and carbon capture and storage businesses in the Barnett natural gas field on September 15, 2026, after all conditions precedent to closing were fully satisfied. The transaction was funded from BKV's cash and borrowings under a revolving credit facility. The value of the transaction was not disclosed under the terms of the asset purchase agreement. The acquired assets comprise producing gas operations of approximately 65 million cubic feet equivalent per day, proved and producing reserves of approximately 0.35 trillion cubic feet equivalent, a CCS project capable of capturing approximately 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and midstream infrastructure such as a gas processing plant with a capacity of 180 million cubic feet equivalent per day and a gas pipeline of approximately 340 miles. Dao Securities said it holds a positive view on the asset purchase plan, which extends the US Closed-Loop Gas strategy to diversify risk away from the coal business, but that there is not yet enough information to assess the worthiness of this investment. It maintained its 2026E net profit forecast at 2.4 billion baht, compared with -2.0 billion baht in 2025, and kept its hold rating with a 2026E target price of 14.80 baht, based on a target PBV of 0.53x.
BANPU launches US integrated gas platform, targets 1.5 million tonnes of carbon storage per year
Banpu Public Company Limited, or BANPU, presented its integrated natural gas business in the United States, known as U.S. Closed-Loop Gas, at Gastech 2026 under the concept The Future Flows Circular, linking operations from natural gas production, midstream business infrastructure and power generation through to carbon capture, utilisation and storage, or CCUS. The platform is driven through BKV Corporation, or BKV, an energy company in which BANPU holds a majority stake and one of the top 15 natural gas producers in the United States, as well as the largest producer in the Barnett gas field in Texas. BKV currently has upstream natural gas reserves, combined cycle gas turbine, or CCGT, gas-fired power plants with total generating capacity of 1.5 gigawatts in Texas, and three carbon capture and storage, or CCS, projects already in operation: Barnett Zero, Cotton Cove and Eagle Ford. It aims to increase its carbon dioxide storage rate to approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year by 2028. BANPU said demand for natural gas in the United States is likely to rise by about 25% by 2030, while electricity demand in Texas's deregulated power market, ERCOT, is expected to increase more than 21-fold by 2032. Given these trends, BKV is pressing ahead with the development of an Integrated Energy Complex in Jack County, Texas, on an area of more than 6,200 acres, and has already filed for approval to connect to the grid to support both power generation and consumption. Sinon Vongkusolkit, Chief Executive Officer of BANPU, said the integrated natural gas business in the United States is one of the key mechanisms driving BANPU's growth through its Carbon-Sequestered Gas, or CSG, solution, a carbon-neutral natural gas covering Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
REX American Resources Posts Record Q2 on Tax Credits as Volume Stalls
REX American Resources reported the best second quarter in its history on September 2, with net income of $1.06 per diluted share and a 24th straight profitable quarter. Net sales climbed to $168.5 million, gross profit surged to $53.3 million from $14.3 million, and the ethanol producer ended the quarter with $379.5 million in cash and short-term investments as of July 31 and zero bank debt. The results leaned on stronger crush margins, richer byproduct pricing and $18.4 million in Section 45Z federal tax credits, though core gross profit still grew 144% year over year excluding that credit income. Ethanol sales volume was flat at 70.6 million gallons and distillers grains volume slipped to 145,081 tons from 148,017 tons, while selling, general and administrative expenses more than doubled to $15.6 million from $6.2 million. The company's carbon capture project cleared a hurdle on August 17 when the EPA issued draft permits for three Class VI injection wells, but Executive Chairman Stuart Rose said regulatory sign-off on a roughly five-mile connector pipeline from the Illinois Commerce Commission will hold the project up the longest.
Sinopec and Partners Launch Global CCUS Cooperation Initiative
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, known as Sinopec, joined the International CCUS Technology Innovation Cooperation Organization, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy, and the Institute of New Materials and Energy Technologies at Nazarbayev University to launch the Initiative for Cooperation on Low-Carbon Energy Development. Announced at the 2026 International CCUS Technology Conference in Astana, the initiative promotes collaboration on CCUS technologies and standards and greater exchange among professionals. Sinopec has built China's first 100-kilometer dense-phase CO2 pipeline and operates the country's first integrated CCUS demonstration project with an annual capacity of one million metric tons. It is also conducting a joint study with Shell, BASF, and China Baowu on China's first open-access CCUS cluster at the 10-million-metric-ton scale, and preparing a one-million-metric-ton demonstration project at Shengli Oilfield. The International CCUS Technology Innovation Cooperation Organization, established in July 2025, has 60 founding members from more than 20 countries and regions.
UN Warns World Risks Entering Era of Global Warming Exceeding 1.5°C
A major United Nations report states that the global average temperature is likely to rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next few years, and could reach 1.8 degrees Celsius in the best-case scenario, or 2.6 degrees Celsius if current policies remain. Currently, temperatures have already increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius. This report marks the end of the previous era and indicates that the world may not be able to avoid overshooting the threshold, so the goal must shift to bringing temperatures back below 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Debra Roberts, one of the co-authors from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, stated that the level of commitment from countries will determine whether the overshoot lasts for decades or millennia. Reducing temperatures requires accelerating the reduction of greenhouse gases and removing carbon from the atmosphere, both naturally and through technology, including making net emissions negative. At the same time, communities must be helped to adapt to irreversible impacts, such as rising sea levels.
Krungsri Securities maintains buy rating on BANPU with target price of 17 baht
Krungsri Securities maintains a buy recommendation on BANPU, with a 2027 target price of 17.0 baht per share, based on a continued recovery trend in 2026 to 2028, when net profit is expected to grow at an average of 68% per year. The natural gas and power plant business in the United States will benefit from rising electricity demand from data centers and the expansion of LNG export capacity. Management expects negotiations on power purchase agreements with major cloud service providers to progress by early 2027. The company aims to increase EBITDA by 1.5 times by 2030 and raise the share of clean energy business to more than 50%, from about 28% in 2023. It plans to expand power generation capacity in the United States by another 200 to 1,200 megawatts and grow its carbon capture business to 1.5 million tonnes per year by 2028, from about 0.4 million tonnes per year currently. For the coal business, the company targets 2026 sales of about 43 million tonnes, up from about 40 million tonnes in 2025, supported by demand for coal as a substitute for natural gas and the impact of the Middle East war on Qatari LNG supply. There is also upside risk to the target price of about 1.2 baht per share from the expansion of power generation capacity in the United States.
Carbon TerraVault begins CO2 injection and revenue at California's first CCS project
Carbon TerraVault Holdings, a subsidiary of California Resources Corporation, has started carbon dioxide injection and revenue generation at Carbon TerraVault I, California's first carbon capture and storage project. The project sources emissions from CRC's Elk Hills Cryogenic Gas Plant. For the second quarter of 2026, the Carbon Management Business reported operating revenues of $1 million, general and administrative expenses of $2 million, other operating expenses net of $7 million, capital investments of $3 million, and an adjusted EBITDAX loss of $8 million. The company provided third quarter 2026 guidance for capital investments of $0 to $2 million, general and administrative expenses of $0 to $2 million, and other operating expenses net of $4 to $12 million, with full-year 2026 guidance for capital investments of $10 to $18 million, general and administrative expenses of $4 to $10 million, and other operating expenses net of $20 to $30 million.
Direct Air Capture Market Projected to Reach $18,244.89 Million by 2035
The global Direct Air Capture Market is projected to grow from USD 160.40 million in 2025 to USD 18,244.89 million by 2035, expanding at a CAGR of 34.17% from 2026 to 2035, according to SNS Insider. Government support, tax breaks, carbon pricing schemes, and corporate net-zero commitments are accelerating market growth globally. North America accounted for 46.73% of the overall market revenue in 2025, while the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. In 2025, the Solid Direct Air Capture segment held a 55.46% revenue share, and the Renewable Energy source segment accounted for 42.56% of market revenue. The Carbon Capture and Storage application segment held a 65.35% share, and the Oil & Gas end-use segment contributed 32.45% of total revenue.
Uniper selects SLB Capturi for carbon capture at UK gas power project
Uniper has appointed SLB Capturi as the preferred technology licensor for carbon capture at its proposed Connah's Quay Low Carbon Power project in Deeside, UK. The decision follows a competitive front-end engineering and design process that began in December 2024. The project will use SLB Capturi's Big Catch amine-based carbon capture technology, configured for flexible operation alongside gas turbines to handle fluctuating electricity demand. If the project reaches a final investment decision and subsequent contract awards, it would mark SLB Capturi's first major deployment in large-scale gas-fired power generation. The facility, targeting up to 1.38 gigawatts of generating capacity in two phases, would pipe captured CO₂ to the HyNet industrial cluster for permanent offshore storage, with an initial phase potentially operational from 2030.
Gas Separation Membranes Market to Reach $2.5 Billion by 2031
The global gas separation membranes market is projected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2025 to $2.5 billion by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of 9.1%, according to a new report from BCC Research. The expansion is driven by surging demand for green hydrogen production and carbon capture technologies, with the carbon capture application segment growing at a 40% CAGR. Asia-Pacific holds a 43.5% market share, led by industrial growth in China and India and aggressive clean energy mandates. Key players include Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Air Liquide, Honeywell International Inc., SLB, and Membrane Technology and Research Inc.
Draft Climate Change Act opens way for carbon contracts for difference to support CCS investment
The third public hearing draft of the Climate Change Act establishes a greenhouse gas emissions trading system and a carbon tax. Controlled legal entities will have their emission allowances capped and must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, potentially by adopting carbon capture and storage technology, or CCS. However, such investments involve high costs and risk from carbon price volatility. Associate Professor Dr. Piti Eiamchamroonlarp proposes using carbon contracts for difference for emission reduction projects, or CCfDs, as a tool for the government to compensate the difference between the market price of emission allowances and the cost of carbon avoidance or CCS services. This would incentivize industries to invest in low-carbon technology instead of buying emission allowances. These long-term contracts of 10 to 20 years would reduce financial risk and promote a domestic CCS market. Following the European Union's approach, CCfDs would be allocated through a competitive bidding process with an evaluation system to ensure the most effective use of public funds.
Entergy and MHI Group sign MOU to cut CCS costs by 50%
Entergy and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group have signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to develop a near-term roadmap for a 50% reduction in overall costs for carbon capture and storage solutions. The collaboration will leverage MHI Group's integrated gas turbine combined cycle and carbon capture technology, including M501JAC gas turbines from Mitsubishi Power Americas and carbon capture technology from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, to support decarbonization at Entergy's power generation sites. Entergy's operations are located near the largest existing carbon dioxide pipeline network in the United States and in a region with suitable subsurface geology for permanent CO2 storage. The partnership builds on a long collaboration between Entergy and Mitsubishi Power Americas and positions the companies as early leaders in the commercialization of integrated gas turbine and CCS technology.
BKV starts up Eagle Ford CCS facility, bringing total operational sites to three
BKV Corporation announced the successful start-up of its Eagle Ford carbon capture and sequestration facility in South Texas, marking the first new operational CCS facility under its joint venture with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners since the inclusion of Barnett Zero. The Eagle Ford facility will sequester approximately 90,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, capturing emissions from a natural gas processing plant handling Eagle Ford Shale production. Together with the previously commissioned Cotton Cove facility in the Fort Worth Basin, which is expected to average about 32,000 metric tons of CO2 sequestration per year, the two new facilities will sequester over 120,000 metric tons of CO2 annually. With Barnett Zero already in operation, BKV now runs three commercial CCS facilities across Texas and is progressing additional projects toward its goal of a 1.5 million metric ton annual CO2 injection rate by 2028.
Deep Sky Delivers North America's First Certified Direct Air Capture Carbon Removal Credits
Deep Sky and Isometric announced that carbon captured and permanently removed from the atmosphere by Deep Sky Alpha in Innisfail, Alberta has been independently reviewed and registered as the first certified direct air capture carbon removal credits in North America. The credits, certified under Isometric's Direct Air Capture Protocol and carrying the Core Carbon Principles label, will be delivered to Microsoft and Royal Bank of Canada. Deep Sky Alpha achieved this milestone within 18 months of beginning construction, marking the first time a DAC project in North America has generated verified credits. The credits represent the beginning of Deep Sky's supply to Microsoft and RBC under their carbon removal agreement through 2034.
Aircapture's Microwave Direct Air Capture Technology Wins Tencent CarbonX 2.0 Award
Aircapture has been selected as one of 16 winners of Tencent's CarbonX 2.0 award for its patented microwave-based direct air capture technology. The company's Lightswing process uses targeted microwave energy to release captured carbon dioxide from its sorbent material, significantly reducing both operational and capital costs per tonne captured compared to conventional thermal regeneration methods. As part of the award, Aircapture will receive a share of nearly $30 million committed across all winners and will develop a 100-tonne-per-year pilot facility in Kenya's Rift Valley, where basalt geology enables permanent underground CO₂ sequestration. The Kenya pilot will scale Lightswing to a 100-bed commercial system, generating real-world performance data alongside three other CarbonX winners deploying different DAC approaches at the same shared hub.
Tencent Awards Nearly US$30 Million to 16 CarbonX 2.0 Climate Tech Winners
Tencent has announced 16 winners of its CarbonX 2.0 global climate initiative, who will share nearly US$30 million in catalytic funding. The winners were selected from 660 applications across 54 countries and regions, with ten teams spanning carbon dioxide removal, carbon capture for steel, carbon utilization, and long-duration energy storage, while six others receive tailored support including measurement and verification and carbon-credit procurement. The announcement was made at the London Science Museum during London Climate Action Week 2026. Tencent also reported progress on its own 2030 climate goals, with renewable energy use at self-owned data centers rising from 49.8% in 2024 to 83% in 2025, and Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduced by nearly 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2025.