Carbon Capture Solvent Technology Market

On 4 October 2024, the UK government confirmed up to £21.7 billion over 25 years to launch carbon capture in Teesside and Merseyside, backing projects meant to capture more than 8.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from 2028. The first of them, Net Zero Teesside Power, will strip carbon dioxide from a gas-fired power station with an amine solvent, and that choice of solvent decides how much steam the plant burns to do it. Douglas Insights values the carbon capture solvent technology market at USD 595.2 million in 2025 and forecasts USD 2.61 billion by 2035, a compound growth rate of 15.92%. The receipt is about 9.6 million tonnes a year of solvent-based capture capacity commissioned in 2025 at an average technology value of USD 62 per tonne of annual capacity, covering licensing, solvent, proprietary equipment and solvent management. Capacity commissioned grows 20.0% a year as funded projects move from decision to operation; value per tonne falls 3.4% a year as solvents improve, designs standardise and licensors compete. The report sits within Douglas Insights coverage of specialty chemicals and follows the published Douglas Insights research methodology.

What does carbon capture solvent technology include?

Carbon capture solvent technology is the licensed process, solvent and specialised equipment that separate carbon dioxide from flue gas or process gas by chemical absorption, worth USD 595.2 million in 2025 on about 9.6 million tonnes a year of new capacity. Technology licensing and process design covers licence fees and engineering packages from technology providers. Solvent initial fill and makeup covers the conventional amine, advanced proprietary amine and other chemical solvents that absorb carbon dioxide, both the first inventory and the replacement of solvent lost to degradation. Proprietary absorber, stripper and heat integration equipment covers specialised internals supplied with the technology. Solvent management, reclaiming and emissions control covers systems that remove degradation products and limit amine emissions. The market spans six sources: natural gas processing, hydrogen and ammonia, cement, power generation, chemicals, and other industrial process emissions. General plant construction, compression, pipelines, storage, direct air capture, and membrane or solid-sorbent capture sit outside the boundary.

How does the UK carbon capture funding change the solvent technology market?

The UK carbon capture funding turns two industrial clusters into firm solvent orders, and Douglas Insights estimates it underwrites about 5% of global capture capacity commissioned between 2027 and 2030. The government’s announcement committed funding over 25 years to the East Coast Cluster and HyNet, with carbon dioxide stored beneath the North Sea and the Irish Sea. Because the money is paid per tonne captured under long-term contracts, projects can reach final investment decisions that have eluded announced projects elsewhere. Douglas Insights threads the funding through this report: it anchors European growth, the fastest of any region; it gives Shell’s CANSOLV and other licensors reference plants in power and industry; and a delay to the second-wave projects is a swing in the scenarios.

Why does carbon capture capacity lag announcements?

Carbon capture capacity lags announcements because building a plant costs hundreds of millions of dollars while announcing one costs little, and Douglas Insights estimates that less than a quarter of capacity announced for 2025 actually started operating that year. Capture adds capital cost, uses energy to regenerate the solvent, and in most cases produces nothing that pays for itself. A project only proceeds when a policy pays enough per tonne, such as the US 45Q tax credit of up to USD 85 per tonne stored, the EU carbon price, or a UK contract, and when a pipeline and storage site can take the carbon dioxide away. This report measures capacity actually commissioned rather than announced, which is why its figures are far smaller than pipeline totals.

Why does the carbon capture solvent matter so much?

The carbon capture solvent matters because regenerating it consumes most of the energy a capture plant uses, and advanced solvents cut that energy from about 3.6 gigajoules per tonne of carbon dioxide for conventional monoethanolamine to about 2.4 to 2.8 gigajoules. In a post-combustion plant, flue gas passes through an absorber where the solvent binds carbon dioxide; the loaded solvent is then heated in a stripper to release concentrated carbon dioxide and regenerate the solvent. That heat, usually steam, is the largest operating cost and the reason capture reduces a power plant’s output by 15% to 25%. Solvent chemistry also sets how fast carbon dioxide is absorbed, how quickly the solvent degrades and how much escapes as amine or nitrosamine emissions. Licensors therefore compete mainly on solvent performance, and solvent makeup is a recurring revenue stream for the life of the plant.

What drives carbon capture solvent technology demand to 2035?

Four drivers carry carbon capture solvent technology capacity growth of 20.0% a year, and policy payments per tonne are the largest. The US 45Q credit pays up to USD 85 per tonne stored, EU carbon prices have ranged from about EUR 60 to EUR 100 per tonne since 2022, and UK contracts pay the gap between cost and carbon price. Douglas Insights estimates these three regimes support about 80% of capacity expected to start between 2026 and 2030. The level matters as much as the existence of a scheme: at USD 85 per tonne, 45Q covers the full cost of capturing concentrated gas-processing streams but only part of the cost of capturing dilute power-plant flue gas, which is why US capture has clustered in gas processing and ethanol.

Hard-to-abate industry is the second driver. Cement kilns release carbon dioxide from limestone itself, about 60% of a plant’s emissions, so no clean fuel can remove it; capture is the only large-scale route. Douglas Insights values cement solvent technology at USD 83.3 million in 2025, 14% of the market, and models it growing faster than the market average as European plants face falling free allowances; the Cement Market report sizes the industry behind it.

Low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia are the third driver. Making hydrogen from natural gas with capture produces a concentrated carbon dioxide stream that is cheap to capture, and the UK, US and Middle East are building such plants. Douglas Insights values hydrogen and ammonia solvent technology at USD 130.9 million in 2025, 22% of the market; the Hydrogen Market report covers the fuel itself. A single world-scale blue ammonia plant can capture 1.5 to 2 million tonnes a year, so each final investment decision adds a large, lumpy order for licence, solvent and equipment.

Transport and storage infrastructure is the fourth driver. Shared pipelines and storage sites, such as the North Sea stores behind the UK clusters and Norway’s Northern Lights, let emitters capture without building their own storage. Douglas Insights estimates each new shared store unlocks 3 to 10 million tonnes a year of capture capacity within five years of opening. Shipping carbon dioxide to offshore stores, as Northern Lights does, also opens capture to inland and coastal emitters that could never justify their own pipeline, widening the pool of cement and waste-to-energy plants that can buy solvent technology.

What could restrain carbon capture solvent technology sales?

Three restraints are built into the carbon capture solvent technology forecast, and policy dependence is the first. Outside gas processing, capture earns almost nothing without subsidy or a carbon price, so a change in US tax credits or a delay to UK second-wave projects can stall orders; Douglas Insights sets the downside scenario’s capacity growth at 11% a year to reflect this.

Storage and transport delays are the second restraint. A capture plant is useless without a store, and permitting, liability rules and pipeline construction have taken five to ten years in several countries. Douglas Insights delays about 25% of announced capacity by two years or more in the base case for this reason.

Technical performance and emissions are the third restraint. Some capture plants have run below their design capture rates, and amine solvents can form nitrosamines that regulators limit tightly, requiring emissions controls that add 5% to 10% to technology cost. That cost is also the reason solvent management grows fastest.

Which carbon capture solvent technology segments carry the value?

Technology licensing and process design leads the carbon capture solvent technology market with 34% of 2025 value, while solvent management, reclaiming and emissions control is the fastest-growing segment at 19.4% a year. Every component holds its share for a different reason.

Technology licensing and process design is worth USD 202.4 million in 2025. It leads because every plant pays a licence and engineering fee to the owner of a proven process.

Solvent initial fill and makeup is worth USD 178.6 million in 2025 and grows 16.8% a year, because solvent degrades and is replaced throughout a plant’s 25-year life, so the installed base keeps buying.

Proprietary absorber, stripper and heat integration equipment is worth USD 154.8 million in 2025. Licensors supply the internals and heat integration that set energy use, though standardised designs are lowering its price per tonne.

Solvent management, reclaiming and emissions control is worth USD 59.5 million in 2025 and is the fastest-growing segment at 19.4% a year, as regulators tighten limits on amine and nitrosamine emissions.

How do emission source and solvent type split carbon capture solvent technology?

By source, natural gas processing accounts for USD 184.5 million (31%) of 2025 value, hydrogen and ammonia for USD 130.9 million (22%), cement for USD 83.3 million (14%), power generation for USD 77.4 million (13%), chemicals for USD 65.5 million (11%) and other industrial process emissions, including refining, steel and waste-to-energy, for USD 53.6 million (9%). By solvent type, advanced proprietary amines account for USD 357.1 million (60%), conventional amines such as monoethanolamine for USD 166.7 million (28%), and other chemical solvents, including amino acid salts and potassium carbonate, for USD 71.4 million (12%).

Which regions build the most carbon capture solvent technology?

North America buys 39.9% of carbon capture solvent technology by value, USD 237.5 million in 2025, while Europe grows fastest at 17.2% a year. North America leads because the 45Q credit and gas processing plants in Texas, Wyoming and Alberta have built the world’s largest operating capture base, though growth of 14.6% a year depends on federal incentives staying in place.

Europe buys USD 179.2 million and grows 17.2% a year, the fastest of any region, driven by the UK clusters, Norway’s Northern Lights and Longship programme, and Dutch and Danish storage projects.

Asia Pacific buys USD 107.1 million and grows 16.4%, with projects in China, Japan, Australia and South Korea. The Middle East buys USD 47.6 million and grows 17.0% on capture linked to gas processing and blue ammonia. Latin America buys USD 14.9 million at 14.0% and Africa USD 8.9 million at 13.0%.

Who are the leading carbon capture solvent technology suppliers?

Douglas Insights estimates that the three largest carbon capture solvent technology licensors hold about 44% of 2025 value, led by Shell’s CANSOLV at about 18%.

Advantage in carbon capture solvent technology rests on proven scale and solvent energy. Shell and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries win the largest projects because they have run commercial plants for years; Fluor has the longest amine track record; SLB Capturi and Carbon Clean win smaller emitters with standardised modules. Chinese licensors and solvent makers are gaining share at home at lower cost. Engineering contractors such as Technip Energies, Worley and Kellogg Brown & Root design and build the plants around the licensed process, and their choice of licensor on early projects often sets the standard for a whole cluster.

How is carbon capture solvent technology priced?

Carbon capture solvent technology sold for an average of USD 62 per tonne of annual capture capacity in 2025, and Douglas Insights expects about USD 44 by 2035. That is the technology package only; the full capture plant costs roughly USD 500 to USD 1,500 per tonne of annual capacity, depending on source and scale. Licences are usually an upfront fee with optional royalties, and solvent supply contracts add recurring revenue of about USD 1 to USD 4 per tonne captured each year. The biggest driver of total capture cost is carbon dioxide concentration: capturing nearly pure streams from gas processing or hydrogen can cost under USD 30 per tonne, while dilute flue gas from gas-fired power can cost over USD 100.

Where does carbon capture make economic sense first?

Carbon capture makes economic sense first where carbon dioxide is most concentrated, and Douglas Insights estimates that gas processing and hydrogen together took 53% of 2025 solvent technology value because their streams are 30% to nearly 100% carbon dioxide. Cement and some chemical processes produce streams of 15% to 30%, at intermediate cost, and have few other ways to cut emissions. Gas-fired power produces flue gas of only 3% to 4% carbon dioxide, the most expensive to treat, and faces competition from renewable electricity. The base case therefore concentrates growth in concentrated streams and hard-to-abate industry, with power growing only where contracts, like the UK’s, pay for it.

Which rules apply to carbon capture solvent technology?

Carbon capture solvent technology answers to three layers of rules, of which carbon pricing and incentives are decisive: the US 45Q credit, the EU Emissions Trading System and UK contracts set the revenue per tonne. Storage rules are the second layer: the EU CCS Directive, UK licensing and US Class VI well permits govern where carbon dioxide can be stored and who carries long-term liability. Emissions rules are the third: air permits limit amine and nitrosamine releases, and monitoring rules decide how captured tonnes are credited.

How far could carbon capture solvent technology reach under each scenario?

The base scenario takes the carbon capture solvent technology market to USD 2.61 billion by 2035, with a range of USD 1.08 billion to USD 5.10 billion. The base case combines 20.0% capacity growth with a 3.4% annual fall in value per tonne for 15.92% a year. The policy-retreat scenario assumes incentives weaken, storage stalls and projects keep being cancelled, setting the legs at 11.0% and minus 4.4% for USD 1.08 billion. The accelerated scenario assumes carbon prices strengthen, storage hubs open on schedule and heavy industry commits at scale, setting the legs at 27.0% and minus 2.4% for USD 5.10 billion. Each 1-point change in capacity growth moves the 2035 figure by about USD 226 million.

Douglas Exclusive: the capture cost stack model

The capture cost stack model sets out, for six emission sources in 18 countries, the carbon dioxide concentration, capture capital and operating cost, solvent regeneration energy, transport and storage cost and total cost per tonne, compared with the incentives and carbon prices available. It shows which sources and countries become viable at each policy level and converts the project pipeline into commissioned capacity and technology revenue, so licensors and solvent suppliers can see where orders will come from.

Methodology and receipts

The carbon capture solvent technology model is built bottom-up from capacity. The headline receipt is 9.6 million tonnes a year of capacity commissioned in 2025 multiplied by USD 62 per tonne, giving USD 595.2 million. Projects in 18 countries are tracked by source, status and start date and weighted by their chance of operating given policy and storage; technology value per tonne and solvent makeup are taken from licensor disclosures and project filings. The forecast compounds 20.0% capacity growth and a 3.4% annual fall in value per tonne to about 59 million tonnes a year commissioned and USD 2.61 billion in 2035.

Sources

1. GOV.UK, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Government reignites industrial heartlands: funding confirmed for the UK's first carbon capture sites (2024)
2. International Energy Agency IEA CCUS projects and policy data (2026)
3. United Nations Statistics Division UN Comtrade: trade flows in amines and organic chemicals (2026)