COP31 panel links Fujairah mineralization to 2030 scale-up

About 50 kilometers separate the capture and mineralization stages in the Fujairah collaboration between Holcim and 44.01: CO2 from a cement facility travels to an underground site for permanent storage through mineralization.

The operating chain anchored a COP31 panel in Antalya, hosted at the Think Negative Carbon Removals Pavilion. Industry representatives said clearer regulation, investment incentives and carbon markets will determine whether the Middle East's geological advantage becomes a larger role in the global carbon dioxide removal industry.

The panel sketched a regional market for 2030, spanning underground mineralization and shared infrastructure for industrial emitters. Panelists identified geological resources, existing industrial infrastructure and closer government-industry cooperation as the conditions for scale.

What does the Fujairah project demonstrate?

The Holcim-44.01 arrangement turns captured CO2 into rock underground through three connected steps: capture at a cement plant, transport over approximately 50 kilometers and mineralization at an underground site. Cédric De Meeûs, Holcim's head of group public policy and government relations, said: “Capturing CO2 is only the beginning.”

De Meeûs said companies also require transportation infrastructure, suitable geological formations and partners capable of delivering permanent storage. The Fujairah arrangement brings the value chain's capture, transport and mineralization stages together within a compact regional footprint.

A related item cited a separate $12 million agreement between Frontier and 44.01 to mineralize CO2 in the UAE. That deal differs from the Fujairah collaboration, for which the panel material gave no capture capacity or investment total.

How is mineralization verified?

Abbie Mabey, 44.01's carbon markets and verification lead, said the company uses tracer injection, water sampling, geochemical analysis and geophysical surveys to establish how much captured CO2 has become solid minerals. The monitoring demonstrates that mineralization occurs and builds technical confidence as projects move toward larger scale.

Panelists saw scope beyond Fujairah. Oman could develop additional mineralization projects, while existing cement plants and industrial clusters across the region could provide opportunities to build shared CO2 capture and storage infrastructure. Those systems would connect multiple industrial sources to common infrastructure.

How could reverse auctions create demand?

Muhannad Al Kalbani, vice president for the Centre of Excellence on Net Zero and Sustainable Finance at the Oman Net Zero Center, said one of the biggest missing pieces is a market that gives companies a financial reason to invest in carbon removal. He proposed reverse auctions in which carbon capture companies compete by offering the lowest removal cost.

Al Kalbani said the mechanism could create demand without immediately imposing a heavily regulated compliance market. He also raised the possibility of redirecting existing energy subsidies toward alternative fuels, arguing that current pricing structures can make it harder for cleaner alternatives to compete.

What regulatory conditions will govern scale?

De Meeûs cited Europe as an example of how carbon pricing, storage legislation and government-backed contracts for difference can reduce investment risk. He argued that companies need confidence that infrastructure built today will remain commercially viable over the coming decades.

Toplensky said the region does not need to start from zero. Existing experience in carbon capture, transportation and storage can provide a foundation for regulations and standards designed specifically for mineralization.

What milestone comes next?

The panel's central warning was straightforward: geology alone will not make the Middle East a carbon removal hub. By 2030, speakers want functioning industrial hubs rather than promising pilot projects, clearer rules and stronger demand from both voluntary and compliance carbon markets.

The deciding milestone is a policy package combining mineralization-specific storage rules, verification standards and a market that pays for removals. Without storage legislation and credible demand, shared infrastructure cannot move from regional concept to bankable deployment; with them, the region's geology and industrial assets can support the 2030 ambition.