Houston is positioned to scale US carbon utilization

Scaling carbon utilization in Houston starts with industry

Industries like chemicals and fuels are essential to global economic growth, yet they are also significant sources of industrial CO₂ emissions. Houston and its Gulf Coast region are well positioned to lead carbon capture and utilization (CCU), with advantages that include well-defined and high-density emissions sources: world-class infrastructure, and globally integrated markets in both chemicals and fuels.

Emerging product pathways, such as sustainable aviation fuel and e-methanol, align with the Greater Houston area’s industrial competitive advantages and integrate into existing infrastructure and markets. For Houston, capturing and reusing CO₂ can help unlock growth in chemicals and fuels production while reducing the carbon intensity per ton produced and supporting economic benefits such as employment.

Achieving this scaled CCU future calls for an integrated infrastructure system—from capture and transport to process inputs and data management—to help ensure CO₂ and ancillary feedstocks can flow reliably across industrial pathways. Download Deloitte's full report for a detailed perspective on the chemicals and fuels focus and what is needed to advance CCU.

Chemicals and fuels companies will likely lead CCU efforts in industrials

The refining and chemicals sectors also deliver outsized economic impacts across the Gulf Coast and therefore are prime to be prioritized as advantages for near-term CCU.

_{1. Market sizes reflect Deloitte analysis of US Bureau of Economic Analysis state and metropolitan GDP by industry (2023–2024), US Bureau of Labor Statistics regional manufacturing employment, Federal Reserve economic cluster assessments, and Energy Information Administration (EIA) refinery capacity and Gulf Coast facility distribution; analysis conducted in December 2025.} 

Houston is strategically positioned to both utilize and store carbon

Within the Gulf Coast, the Greater Houston region is well positioned to leverage the carbon supply based on the density of point sources, and its infrastructure and naturally occurring geologic sequestration formations

Houston hosts three critical siting advantages

1. Density of emitters
Houston is home to one of the largest industrial clusters in North America, where emitters often operate in close proximity, simplifying infrastructure needs for shared CO₂ collection, compression and transport systems.

2. Gulf geology for sequestration
Houston benefits from direct access to the Gulf Coast’s extensive, high-quality saline formations that are ideal for storing large volumes of CO₂.

3. World-class industrial infrastructure
Houston is a national hub for CO₂, oil, natural gas and hydrogen pipelines, providing a strong infrastructure foundation that can be adapted or expanded for CO₂ utilization.

Practical CCU applications continue to mature from pilots to scaled usage

In the short- and mid-term, select utilization pathways in chemicals and fuels offer a strong balance of existing market scale and future growth potential

_{5. Deloitte analysis reported global market values and forecast periods sourced from third party industry research. For each pathway, CAGR was calculated from the earliest available base year to the latest forecast year and applied to derive implied 2025 and 2030 market values. Where reports provided only CAGR or endpoint values, intermediate years were interpolated. All figures rounded to the nearest tenth of a billion. Analysis conducted in April 2025.}

CCU and CCS are gaining real market traction

In Texas, increased investment from key players is accelerating carbon management project growth

<sub>6. Celanese, Celanese begins carbon capture and utilization operations at Clear Lake, Texas, Facility, press release, January 9, 2024. 

7. Celanese, Celanese and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. to form food ingredients joint venture; extend existing Fairway Methanol LLC joint venture, press release, February 23, 2023. 

8. Mitsui & Co., US Methanol JV commences production of methanol derived from CO2, January 10, 2024. 
9. James Anderton, ”Turning waste CO2 into low carbon methanol for industry, Engineering.com, April 2, 2024.
10. HIF, ”HIF Matagorda, accessed November 25, 2025. 

11. Dominic Ellis, ”HIF Global eFuels facility powered by captured CO2 and green hydrogen, Gasworld, December 6, 2022. 

12. HIF, ”HIF Global awarded first U.S. approval for e Fuels Design Pathway, press release, March 11, 2025. 

13. Coco Liu, A Gates backed startup is making fuel from water and carbon dioxide, Bloomberg, April 9, 2024. 

14. Infinium, Infinium s Project Pathfinder is world s first fully operational eFuels facility, published on March 21, 2025. 

15. BP, BP and Linde plan major CCS project to advance decarbonization efforts across Texas Gulf Coast, press release, May 17, 2022.</sub>

Scaling carbon utilization involves overcoming major barriers

Overcoming structural constraints and market gaps is critical to enable CCU to grow and scale

Transforming CO₂ into a competitive advantage in the Greater Houston area

Carbon management is expanding across the Gulf Coast as CCU and carbon capture and storage projects transition into commercial reality. Learn more about utilization pathways in chemicals and fuels that are ready to scale, their infrastructure needs, and how leaders are unlocking long-term value by overcoming policy, cost, and demand hurdles.