The purpose of this report is to investigate existing and emerging uses of CO₂ and to review the potential to capture and reuse CO₂ for industrial applications in order to accelerate the development and commercial deployment of CCS. It considers both the near-term application of mature technologies such as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the longer term application of a number of promising new technologies that are still in the initial stages of their technical development.

The global CO₂ reuse market currently amounts to approximately 80 million tonnes per year and is dominated by EOR demand in North America. CO₂ reuse for EOR has been a source of revenue for existing CCS projects in North America, and is incorporated into the planning of many proposed North American CCS projects. Elsewhere in the world, particularly in emerging and developing economies, the potential of EOR as an economic catalyst for CCS development is also being examined. The key question addressed by this report is whether and to what extent EOR and other CO₂ reuse technologies can accelerate the uptake and commercial deployment of CCS.

Key findings include that:

• CO₂ reuse has the potential to provide a moderate revenue stream for near-term CCS project development in favourable locations where reuse applications and markets are close to the emission source;
• CO₂ reuse may provide a particular benefit in developing nations, where there is high demand for energy and construction materials; and
• while reuse does not have material global CO₂ abatement potential, it can help to support near-term CCS project development in some locations and applications.

The report presents three recommendations for priority actions: 

• map regional opportunities for CO₂ reuse projects, identifying where point sources of CO₂, especially concentrated sources, align with strong demand for products derived from CO₂;
• encourage the deployment of CO₂-EOR outside of North America and maximise its associated learning and community acceptance opportunities; and
• make CO₂ reuse opportunities more of a focus in programs which facilitate the development of large-scale CCS demonstration projects in emerging and developing economies.