Media Release: CCUS Network Australia Hubs Workshop Findings
July 20, 2026
Western Australia is well positioned to host one or more multi‑user CCUS hubs, supported by strong geological storage potential, established industrial clusters, and deep technical capability. Demand from regional trading partners lacking domestic CO₂ storage further strengthens the case for WA‑based hubs.
Despite this favourable starting point, CCUS deployment in Australia is stalled. The core barrier is not technology or geology, but the absence of an enabling State and Commonwealth policy framework. Australia’s current reliance on market‑led development contrasts sharply with international peers who use integrated policy settings and fiscal support to accelerate CCUS investment. As a result, only two CCS projects operate at scale in Australia, both enabled by mandates or unusually low‑cost ACCUs and limited to processing‑related reservoir CO₂. Expanding CCUS to hard‑to‑abate industrial emissions will require significantly stronger policy intervention.
The CCUSNA workshop brought together 100 delegates from industry, government and research to examine “the opportunities and challenges for multi-user CCUS hubs in Kwinana, the Mid West and the Pilbara”. Pre‑workshop webinars provided insights into precinct characteristics, policy settings and international hub experience. Delegates identified immediate, low‑risk actions to build momentum and longer‑term options for scalable hub development.
Two categories of policy measures are required:
- Legislative and strategic policies: CCUS roadmaps, injection targets, pore‑space access frameworks, carbon pricing mechanisms, CBAMs and international cooperation.
- Fiscal policies: grants, debt financing, tax credits, CCfDs, state‑owned entity participation and government purchase agreements.
International comparison shows Australia lags in both policy breadth and depth relative to jurisdictions pursuing CCUS at scale.
Key recommendations for Western Australia include converting the CCUS Action Plan into an actionable framework with milestones and delivery targets, and commissioning CCUS Hub Concept Studies for Kwinana, the Mid West and the Pilbara. These studies would provide government and industry with essential information on hub scale, cost and emissions‑reduction potential.
To meet legislated 2035 emissions targets, concurrent State and Commonwealth actions are required. Delegates emphasised that delaying action risks forfeiting the opportunity to establish CCUS at scale in WA.
CCUSNA continues to support industry, government and community through information, collaboration and value‑chain engagement, without advocating for individual projects or CO₂ sources.
Thank you to the workshop sponsors: Department of Energy and Economic Diversification (DEED), Corrs, LETA, YARA, Xodus, AGIG, Worley, Mid-West Development Commission, inCapture, RDA Pilbara. Pilbara Development Commission, Wood.