Global CO2 emissions hit 37 gigatonnes in 2022, according to the IEA, with 15.5 Gt generated by coal and 11.2 Gt by oil. By source, electricity and heat production remains the largest share of global emissions at 35%, followed by manufacturing and construction (22%), transport (14%), industry (11%), buildings (6%) and other energy sources (12%).
Against this backdrop, the market for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies is growing fast: analysts estimate the global CO2 conversion market will reach $9.9 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3%. The broader CCUS sector is growing at a 7.3% CAGR over 2023–2030, driven by demand for clean technologies across energy, chemicals, materials and fuels.
The sector is already attracting global energy and industrial giants — from ExxonMobil to Shell, from Equinor to Linde — alongside specialised players in CO2 thermo-valorisation such as Sunfire, Twelve and SeeO2 Energy, developing low-impact technologies to turn captured CO2 into value-added products: e-fuels, chemicals, materials and even microbial proteins.
This is exactly the path the Energy Transition Hub Torino is pursuing, where CO2 is treated not as waste but as a raw material: from electrochemical capture to valorisation through biological and catalytic processes, all the way to geological storage in depleted fields and saline aquifers.
Sources: IEA, CO2 Emissions in 2022; CCUS/CCU market estimates