Total Energies DAC Infrastructure, >€1 B Air Liquide JV, $73 M in Credits, and 2 Major CCUS Projects (2025)

DAC Infrastructure Strategy, Total Energies Prioritizes Storage Over Tech Risk

In 2025, Total Energies is executing a deliberate and infrastructure-centric strategy for Direct Air Capture (DAC), prioritizing the development of foundational CO 2 transport and storage assets over investing in its own large-scale DAC plants. This approach differs from competitors and is designed to mitigate the high costs and technological risks of early-stage DAC projects, which can exceed $600 per ton. By focusing on enabling infrastructure and engaging in the voluntary carbon market, Total Energies positions itself as a critical service provider for the future carbon management economy, securing a role regardless of which specific capture technology becomes dominant.

Total Energies Infrastructure-First Approach

• From 2021 to 2024, the company’s focus was on building a broad portfolio of low-carbon energy solutions. In 2025, this strategy crystallized into a clear preference for building and controlling the downstream assets for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), which are essential for both point-source capture and future DAC projects.
• The company’s strategy avoids direct competition on DAC technology development, where firms like Occidental Petroleum are launching first-of-a-kind plants like the 500, 000-tonne-per-year STRATOS facility in 2025. Instead, Total Energies is building the logistical backbone required for a mature carbon market.
• By developing projects like Northern Lights, Total Energies establishes itself as the owner of essential infrastructure, creating a long-term revenue stream from providing CO 2 storage-as-a-service to industrial emitters and, eventually, large-scale DAC operators.

Carbon Credit and Market Engagement

• A key component of this strategy is active participation in carbon markets. In 2025, Total Energies spent a record $73 million on carbon credits, signaling strong demand for high-quality carbon removal solutions and helping to stimulate the market that future DAC projects will supply.
• This dual approach of building physical infrastructure while simultaneously creating market demand through credit purchases allows the company to de-risk its energy transition. It secures a supply of carbon credits to meet its own decarbonization targets while ensuring its infrastructure investments have future customers.

>€1 B Investment, Total Energies Green Hydrogen and CCUS Projects

Total Energies’ capital allocation in 2025 reinforces its focus on foundational assets for decarbonization, with significant investments directed toward green hydrogen production and large-scale CO 2 storage infrastructure. These investments, totaling over €1 billion in a key joint venture, are not for direct DAC deployment but are critical enablers. They provide the low-carbon energy required to power future DAC facilities and the permanent storage needed to sequester the captured CO 2, creating a resilient and integrated system.

Total Energies Investment in Enablers

• In February 2025, Total Energies and Air Liquide announced a 50/50 joint venture to invest over €1 billion in developing green and low-carbon hydrogen projects. A primary project is a new 250 MW electrolyzer at the Zeeland refinery to produce green hydrogen, demonstrating a commitment to securing low-carbon energy sources vital for energy-intensive DAC processes.
• The company, with partners Equinor and Shell, moved forward with Phase 2 of the Northern Lights project after reaching a Final Investment Decision in March 2025. This expansion is a cornerstone of its strategy, securing crucial geological storage capacity in Europe.
• These financial commitments stand in contrast to the market volatility seen in the U.S., where the Department of Energy announced funding cuts in October 2025 that impacted the $3.5 billion DAC Hubs program. This event underscores the risk of relying on government subsidies and validates Total Energies‘ focus on long-term infrastructure assets.

Table: Total Energies 2025 Strategic Investments and Market Activities

TotalEnergies Accelerates Green CapEx Alignment by 2025
TotalEnergies is set to allocate 31% of its CapEx to EU Taxonomy-eligible activities by 2025, with 27% aligned, confirming significant momentum in sustainable investments. This includes projects in carbon capture, renewables, and hydrogen infrastructure, signaling a decisive shift in its energy transition strategy.

Carbon Capture Investments Underpin TotalEnergies” Net Zero Ambition
TotalEnergies’ increasing CapEx alignment underscores its commitment to the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions scenario by prioritizing activities like “carbon capture and storage of CO2” and “nature-based carbon sinks”. While not explicitly DAC, this indicates a strategic push into carbon removal, creating a robust foundation for future investments in advanced capture technologies.

(Source: World Energy Outlook — via Chevron Carbon Capture 2025, $85/ton Credit & GE Vernova)

Total Energies 2 Key JVs, Air Liquide and Northern Lights Partners (2025)

Partnerships are the central mechanism for Total Energies‘ 2025 decarbonization strategy, enabling the company to share risk, pool capital for large-scale infrastructure, and access specialized expertise. The company has prioritized alliances that build out two critical verticals for the future carbon economy: low-carbon hydrogen production and cross-border CO 2 transport and storage. These partnerships are not speculative R&D arrangements but are structured to develop and control commercial-scale assets.

Total Energies Project Northern Lights

• The Northern Lights project, a joint venture with Equinor and Shell, is the most prominent example of this strategy. With the Final Investment Decision for Phase 2 made in March 2025, the partnership is committed to creating the world’s first open-source CO 2 transport and storage infrastructure, capable of serving industrial emitters across Northern Europe.
• This project provides a tangible, large-scale solution for permanent CO 2 sequestration, a necessary component for any credible net-zero plan. It positions the partners as key enablers of regional decarbonization, including future activities from companies like Hafslund Celsio.

Total Energies Partnership with Air Liquide

• The joint venture with Air Liquide focuses on decarbonizing Total Energies‘ European refineries by replacing gray hydrogen with green and low-carbon hydrogen. This partnership directly addresses the company’s own Scope 1 and 2 emissions while building expertise and infrastructure in large-scale electrolysis.
• This collaboration serves a dual purpose: it provides an immediate decarbonization solution for existing operations and develops the competencies and supply chains for producing the vast amounts of low-carbon energy that will be required to power future DAC installations.

Table: Total Energies 2025 Strategic Partnerships

Europe vs. US, Total Energies Deploys Capital in Key CCUS Hubs

Total Energies‘ geographical focus in 2025 is concentrated on regions with supportive regulatory frameworks and favorable geology for large-scale CO 2 storage, primarily Northern Europe and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company is strategically developing major CCUS hubs in these areas to serve its own assets and third-party emitters. This targeted deployment of capital contrasts with a more scattered approach, indicating a clear strategy to build dominant positions in key industrial corridors.

• In Europe, the company’s strategy is anchored by the Northern Lights project in Norway. The decision in 2025 to advance Phase 2 solidifies its commitment to creating a CO 2 storage hub for the continent, leveraging Norway’s unique geological advantages and strong government support for CCUS.
• In the United States, Total Energies is a key partner in the Bayou Bend CCS project on the Texas Gulf Coast, holding a 25% stake. This project is strategically located to decarbonize the company’s nearby Port Arthur refinery and other industrial facilities in one of the nation’s largest industrial zones.
• The focus on these two regions reflects a strategy of aligning investments with areas that offer both geological potential and policy certainty. While the U.S. offers powerful incentives like the 45 Q tax credit ($180/ton for DAC), the recent funding volatility for DAC Hubs highlights the importance of the stable, long-term regulatory environment that projects like Northern Lights enjoy in Europe.

SWOT Analysis, Total Energies DAC Strategy and Execution Risks

Total Energies‘ 2025 strategy to prioritize enabling infrastructure for Direct Air Capture is a calculated, lower-risk approach that leverages its core competencies in managing large-scale energy projects. This positions the company to profit from the growth of the entire carbon management sector. However, this deliberate patience also creates potential vulnerabilities, particularly by ceding early technological leadership in DAC to more aggressive first-movers.

Table: SWOT Analysis for Total Energies DAC Initiatives for 2025

Scenario Modeling: Total Energies & Air Liquide’s €1 B Hydrogen JV

The most critical signal to watch for Total Energies‘ forward-looking strategy is the execution and potential expansion of its €1 billion hydrogen joint venture with Air Liquide. If this partnership successfully delivers low-carbon hydrogen at a competitive cost to decarbonize its refineries, expect Total Energies to replicate this model by acquiring or developing dedicated renewable power assets specifically to energize future, third-party DAC projects that connect to its storage infrastructure. This would confirm a strategic shift from simply providing storage to offering an integrated “power and pore space” service bundle.

• If this happens: The Air Liquide JV meets or exceeds its initial deployment targets for the 250 MW electrolyzer at the Zeeland refinery on schedule.
• Watch this: Look for announcements of new, large-scale Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) or direct investments in renewable energy projects by Total Energies located near its CCUS hubs like Bayou Bend.
• These could be happening: Total Energies may be positioning itself to become an integrated service provider for the DAC industry, offering bundled contracts for green electrons and CO 2 sequestration. This would create a significant competitive advantage over companies that only offer storage, effectively capturing more of the value chain as the DAC market, currently valued around $200 million, grows at a projected CAGR of over 46%.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of TotalEnergies’ carbon capture strategy. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Carbon dioxide storage projects US and Europe
• Occidental direct air capture project economics
• Companies selling direct air capture carbon credits
• Largest green hydrogen projects under development

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