CCS costs surge as trade war rattles developers

Volatile tariffs add new risks for a sector already struggling to achieve economies of scale

US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable global trade war is driving up CCUS costs by as much as 50% and upending contracts as suppliers and customers wrangle over tariff clauses, according to speakers at the Carbon Capture Europe Summit in April. “Since the [tariff] war started, I think there has been 30–50% inflation to most costs already,” Martijn Smit, vice-president for CCS and hydrogen market development at Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor told the summit, organised by Leader Associates, in Amsterdam. “We have to deal with it. Maybe the steps we take at one go should be a bit smaller. That is that only adaptation I could answer today.” “Who is going to bear the unpre