Optimizing regional CCUS clusterization deployment for multi-industrial sectors: A carbon neutrality pathway for emission-intensive region

Rapid mitigation of global climate change demands transformative technological innovations to achieve deep decarbonization. China has pledged the dual carbon goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, underscoring the urgency and scale of the challenge. While Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) has emerged as a promising approach, its large-scale implementation in emission-intensive industrial clustered region faces significant infrastructural challenges. Specifically, the optimal layout of regional CCUS clusterization and CO₂ transport networks remains unclear, particularly in highly industrialized regions such as China’s Jiangsu Province, where diverse industrial sectors and varied geological formations create complex source-sink matching challenges for CCUS deployment. In this study, we developed the SPATIAL (Strategic Pipeline And Technical Integration Analysis Layout) model that enables the optimization of CCUS deployment in emission-intensive regions from an industrial cluster perspective by integrating data of emissions from major industrial sources and storage potential from geological formations. The model was applied to Jiangsu Province under high, medium, and low emission reduction target scenarios through source-sink matching. Results show significant spatial heterogeneity between emission sources and geological storage resources in Jiangsu Province. For example, southern Jiangsu, characterized by high-intensity CO₂ emission clusters, accounts for 63 % of the province’s total emissions while holding only 0.03 % of the province’s geological storage potential. The optimal layout for regional CCUS clusterization deployment under high, medium, and low emission reduction targets achieve total CO₂ storage of 1.4, 1.1, and 0.9 Gt, respectively, supported by pipeline networks of 4629, 2513, and 1433 km. These layouts demonstrate economies of scale, with unit emission reduction costs ranging from 93.84 to 179.31 CNY/t CO₂. Our findings establish the technical and economic feasibility of achieving significant emission reductions through regional CCUS clusterization deployment and address a critical gap in ignoring the hot spot phenomenon of industrial cluster. This study further emphasizes the importance of inter-regional coordination, regional geological storage resource management, and integrated infrastructure planning in realizing cost-effective CCUS clusterization implementation. This study provides policymakers with actionable insights for formulating CCUS clusterization strategies in emission-intensive industrial regions, contributing to the broader goal of regional carbon neutrality.