Deterministic Cost Estimation Approaches for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage: A Review

Abstract

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is regarded as a connection between traditional, high‐emission sectors and future green energy. This study encompasses literature from 2003 to early 2026 to review methodologies and formulae used for cost estimating in the various segments of carbon capture, transport, utilization, and storage. The focus of this study is the deterministic economic assessment metrics (net present value [NPV], internal rate of return [IRR], minimum attractive rate of return [MARR], cost–benefit analysis [CBA], break‐even analysis, sensitivity analysis, payback period, and techno‐economic assessment) in the CCUS system to assess the viability of projects. This review discusses how different assumptions and scenarios can change the results and make comparisons between CCUS projects difficult. This review indicates that deterministic models are useful for early screening of projects, but their results may be misleading when the project scale, regional conditions, infrastructure availability, and market assumptions are not clearly defined. Although technical innovation and shared infrastructure can reduce the costs, most available research still emphasizes the critical role of carbon taxes and incentives in improving CCUS project feasibility. On the other hand, the results identify that high capital costs, policy uncertainty, the absence of standardized economic evaluation frameworks, and a lack of clear data all hinder the CCUS project development. It is suggested that deterministic approaches and standard key performance indicators (KPIs) with clear input data can help improve the economic evaluation of CCUS projects. However, uncertainty in input parameters could still reduce accuracy, and the need for other estimation tools could arise. 2026 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.