Designing regional CCUS value chains: techno-economic and life cycle perspectives

Meeting climate-neutrality targets will depend not only on the technical feasibility of storing CO₂ underground, but also on the ability to develop complete regional value chains that connect emission sources, capture facilities, transport networks, utilization pathways and storage sites. Although subsurface characterization and storage technologies have advanced considerably, the economic, environmental, infrastructural and regulatory conditions determining whether CCUS systems deliver genuine net-emission reductions remain comparatively under-investigated. Techno-economic modelling and life cycle assessment are frequently conducted separately, with limited integration of source–sink matching, shared infrastructure, cross-border transport, carbon accounting and regional deployment constraints. A consistent system-level perspective is therefore needed to assess the feasibility and climate performance of CCUS clusters and networks.This Research Topic aims to advance integrated approaches for designing, costing and evaluating regional and cross-border CCUS value chains, industrial hubs and CO₂–hydrogen networks. It will examine how geological, petrophysical and geophysical information can inform estimates of storage capacity, injectivity, containment risk, infrastructure requirements and project costs, while maintaining a primary focus on system-level performance. The Research Topic also seeks to clarify the conditions under which CCUS can achieve meaningful climate benefits by assessing economic feasibility, life cycle environmental impacts, carbon balances and long-term containment assumptions across complete value chains. Particular attention will be given to the comparative performance of fossil, biogenic and atmospheric CO₂ sources, including the potential of BECCS, DACCS and hydrogen-coupled systems to deliver carbon neutrality or genuine negative emissions.To gather further insights into regional and cross-border CCUS value chains, including industrial clusters, shared infrastructure, onshore and offshore storage systems, and integrated CO₂ and hydrogen networks, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Regional and cross-border CCUS value chains, clusters and industrial hubs• Source–sink matching and CO₂ transport-network design and optimization• Techno-economic modelling of integrated CCUS systems• Life cycle assessment and carbon-balance analysis of complete value chains•Coupled techno-economic and environmental modelling frameworks• Comparison of fossil, biogenic and atmospheric CO₂ sources• BECCS, DACCS and other negative-emission technologies at system scale• Integration of CCUS with hydrogen production, transport and storage• Carbon utilization pathways, including fuels, chemicals and value-added products• Storage-capacity and injectivity estimation as inputs to economic and environmental assessment• Use of geological, petrophysical and geophysical data to constrain cost, risk and containment assumptions• Infrastructure planning, optimization and sharing across regional networks• Regulatory, policy, permitting and cross-border constraints on deployment• Monitoring, verification, reporting and long-term liability within integrated CCUS systemsAppendix — suitable article types: Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Perspective, Brief Research Report, Data Report, Methods, and Technology and Code articles. Topic editors: Kazbulat Shogenov, Caglar Sinayuc, Anna Korre, Alla Shogenova Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86271/designing-regional-ccus-value-chains-techno-economic-and-life-cycle-perspectives