How Captured Carbon Could Power the Next Industrial Revolution

Turning Carbon from Waste into Worth

Carbon capture is having a moment. With climate targets tightening and net zero on the horizon, global efforts to pull carbon from the air and industrial stacks are gaining ground. But as more CO₂ gets captured, a practical question emerges: what exactly are we supposed to do with all of it?

Right now, only about 230 million tons of CO₂ are utilized annually, mostly for things like fertilizer and oil recovery. That may sound like a lot, but it’s barely a dent compared to the 50 billion tons emitted globally each year. According to the International Energy Agency, we could be capturing up to 6 billion tons annually by 2050. So, where will it all go?

Cement: Built for Carbon Reuse

One surprisingly viable option is cement. It’s everywhere—and it also happens to naturally reabsorb carbon during its life cycle. Around 30% of the CO₂ released during its production can be reabsorbed, forming calcium carbonate in the concrete.

More importantly, this can happen without extra energy input. The carbon becomes a part of the product, strengthening the material. As cleaner cement production ramps up, it could become one of the rare building materials with carbon-negative potential.

>> RELATED: Turning Concrete into a Climate Hero: How Northwestern and Cemex Are Reimagining Building Materials

Ethylene: Locking Carbon into Everyday Products

Then there’s ethylene, a chemical that shows up in just about everything—from packaging and piping to textiles and flooring. It may not be flashy, but it offers one of the most scalable and long-lasting ways to lock carbon away.

Producing ethylene from CO₂ avoids traditional steam cracking, a process that generates 1-2 tons of CO₂ per ton of ethylene. If we could switch to CCU-based ethylene production, we could eliminate a major industrial emissions source and create a durable carbon sink.

That said, the technology is still emerging. Electrolyzers and ethanol conversion methods are being explored, and while they come at a premium now, they offer a future with far cleaner production chains.

Jet Fuel: A Carbon-Heavy Sector Looking for Options

Air travel remains one of the hardest industries to decarbonize. Electric planes haven’t scaled. That’s why many are eyeing carbon-derived sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as a bridge solution.

CCU jet fuel is made by converting captured CO₂ into carbon monoxide, which is then synthesized into hydrocarbons. But the energy requirements are still high, and the fuel can cost 2 to 8 times more than traditional options, according to a recent study.

Still, as renewable electricity gets cheaper and SAF technology matures, this gap may close. For now, it’s a medium-viability option with potential for long-term impact.

>> In Other News: Shell, Equinor, Totalenergies to Invest $714 Million in Carbon Storage Expansion

Methane and Gasoline: Dead Ends for Captured Carbon

On the flip side, trying to make CCU methane or gasoline isn’t a great plan. Creating methane from captured carbon and hydrogen is inefficient when you could just use that clean energy directly.

Gasoline fares no better. While some thought CCU gasoline might help extend internal combustion engine lifespans, EVs now reach 70% energy efficiency, compared to gas engines at 20–30%. Simply put: we have better uses for our electricity and our carbon.

Big Numbers, Big Questions

To meet 2050 targets, we’ll be capturing around 16 million tons of CO₂ every single day. So, what happens to all that carbon?

Even just three viable products—cement, SAF, and ethylene—could realistically consume around 8 million tons per day based on today’s usage levels. And that doesn’t even include growing demand for other CCU products like methanol and propylene.

If these markets grow at a conservative 4% a year, they’ll easily be able to absorb all the captured CO₂ by 2050. But capturing is only half the story.

Energy Costs: The Elephant in the Room

The biggest hurdle to CCU is energy. Turning CO₂ into usable materials takes a lot of it. If clean electricity stays expensive, CCU products will continue to be costlier than their fossil-based counterparts.

But momentum is building. The IEA projects 5,500 GW of renewable energy will come online before 2030. That surge could make carbon conversion economically feasible.

Putting Carbon to Work

As DAVID WAKERLEY, Co-founder and CTO of Dioxycle, said, “It is going to take more effort to re-use our carbon emissions than to simply bury them.” But with the right mix of policy, investment, and technological innovation, reuse may become not just viable but vital.

"Provided renewable electricity costs decline and capital expenditures decrease as the technology matures, SAF prices may drop into an affordable range in the not-so-distant future," he added.

Cement and ethylene are low-hanging fruit. SAF is the next frontier. Methane and gasoline? Let them go.

In a decarbonizing world, carbon may no longer be just waste—it could be the feedstock for the next industrial revolution.