Industries face the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining energy security. Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a key strategy to achieve both goals, particularly in hard to abate sectors. Successful CCUS relies on accurate, integrated emissions measurement. If emissions cannot be measured with confidence, it is difficult to design, size or operate a solution to reduce them.

For operators in refining, chemicals, hydrogen, ammonia, cement and other emissions intensive industries, this challenge is no longer theoretical. CCUS projects are moving from concept studies into front end engineering and execution, increasing the stakes around design assumptions, capital allocation, and operational readiness. Without reliable emissions data, projects could face inefficiencies, higher costs and reduced credibility among investors and regulators.

The impact of these risks is amplified when they surface late in project development. During permitting, financing or front-end engineering design, (FEED), discrepancies between estimated and actual emissions volumes can force scope changes or delays. What appears manageable on paper can quickly become a gating issue once real operational data is required. In practice, when addressed early, accurate measurement is a key factor in determining whether a project advances or stalls.

Measurement as Operational Infrastructure
Accurate emissions management begins with infrastructure. Sensors, analyzers, transmitters and imaging systems collect physical information and provide the data needed to understand emissions behavior. The value of this infrastructure largely depends on how it is deployed and whether systems are connected.

At many existing facilities, measurement systems were not originally designed to support real time carbon decisions. Instruments may have been installed for safety or compliance purposes rather than continuous operational insight. As a result, significant blind spots remain in how emissions behave under changing operating conditions.

In many facilities, emissions data exist in silos. Some measurements are continuous, while others are inferred or manually calculated. Some emissions measurements are available daily, while others appear only in weekly, monthly or quarterly reports. This fragmentation limits the data’s usefulness. By the time variances appear in reports, the operating conditions that caused them may already be gone, making root cause analysis challenging.

When measurement is consistent and standardized across systems, emissions data becomes part of normal plant operations. Operators can see emissions alongside pressures, temperatures, flows and operating modes. Deviations stand out sooner, and cause and effect relationships become visible before they escalate into problems. Emissions shift from being a reporting output to an operational signal.

In facilities where emissions are visible alongside traditional process variables, operators begin to treat carbon like any other performance parameter. Unexpected increases prompt immediate questions: what changed, where and why? This shift in mindset is often the first step toward stabilizing both operations and emissions.

The full value of carbon measurement emerges when emissions data is available continuously rather than only at reporting intervals. Carbon dioxide emissions are directly linked to how a facility is run. Changes in throughput, unit cycling, maintenance activity, feedstock and operating conditions all influence emissions behavior. Yet many facilities still rely on averages that mask this variability.

Short term variability often matters more than long term averages. Hour to hour swings in throughput or unit operation can significantly affect capture system performance, compression requirements and downstream integration. When operators can see emissions as they happen, they can respond immediately, reducing fluctuation, improving maintenance planning and stabilizing operations over time.

Once measurement infrastructure is in place, emissions monitoring becomes continuous and repeatable. Errors are reduced, and the burden of manual reconciliation is minimized. Operators notice drift earlier, engineers can trace changes back to specific conditions and managers gain visibility across units or sites rather than isolated snapshots. While this visibility does not eliminate uncertainty entirely, it reduces reliance on assumptions and enables more confident decision making.

The Role of Digital Operations
Collecting data is only part of the solution. Emissions data must be validated, contextualized, and made usable by the people running the facility. Digital operations platforms can bring field measurements into a single view, reducing uncertainty and errors caused by disconnected systems. This improves confidence in both day to day operations and longer term investment planning.

For CCUS projects, usability is important. Capture design, operations and reporting often span multiple teams and external stakeholders, all of whom depend on consistent emissions data to make aligned decisions. When data is fragmented or poorly understood, misalignment increases risk.

Integrating emissions data is particularly challenging at brownfield sites, where years or decades of equipment upgrades and control system changes may have created complex and fragmented data environments. Differences in standards, calculation methods and manual data entry can introduce errors and undermine trust in the results.

A modern emissions management software solution helps address these challenges by centralizing data into a single platform. Information from digital monitoring devices, third party sensors and manual inputs can be consolidated, ensuring that teams work from the same dataset. Successful deployments focus first on reliability and transparency—ensuring operators and engineers understand where the data comes from, how it is calculated and when it should be questioned.

By standardizing calculations and automating data collection, digital operations reduce errors and improve timeliness. Emissions information becomes part of routine operations rather than a separate reporting exercise, supporting faster decisions and clearer communication across teams.

From Capture to Value
Carbon capture projects can go beyond capturing emissions, creating value through utilization, supplying stored carbon to others or integration into broader networks. Measurement and digital operations play a central role in evaluating these opportunities.

Whether utilization pathways are realistic depends heavily on measurement. Volume, purity, continuity, and variability all influence whether captured CO2 can be marketed, converted or transported economically. Many utilization concepts appear attractive on paper but prove challenging in practice when operational variability is considered.

One innovative example of this is Honeywell providing carbon capture technology to an Indiana energy company to help convert a former gasification plant into one of the nation’s first low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia facilities. By centralizing emissions data and using proven technology, the facility will produce 500,000 metric tons of ammonia fertilizer annually, demonstrating how integrated systems support smart decisions, operational efficiency and stakeholder confidence.

Monthly averages can mask downtime, turndown or instability that make downstream utilization impractical without additional buffering or conditioning. In some cases, a smaller but more consistent CO2 stream may be more valuable than a larger, more variable one. In others, modest operational changes can stabilize output enough to open new options.
By understanding carbon volume, quality and variability at a granular level, operators can determine early which pathways are viable and which are not. That early clarity prevents time and capital from being spent on options that were never feasible and allows teams to focus on solutions aligned with how their facilities operate.

Ensuring CCUS Project Success
Carbon capture technology will continue to advance, storage networks will expand and new utilization pathways will emerge. These developments matter, but one of the most important factors for success remains foundational: accurate measurement, connected systems and day-to-day visibility.

Facilities that invest in understanding their emissions gain more than compliance data. They gain control. They reduce uncertainty. They make better decisions about capture sizing, integration points and whether a facility is ready for CCUS at all. That insight allows project teams to move forward with confidence rather than assumptions.

Investing in accurate measurement infrastructure does involve upfront costs, which can be a barrier for some organizations. However, these investments often deliver long-term value through improved operational efficiency, reduced rework and lower risk of project delays or redesign. Established measurement technologies with proven operational performance can strengthen both project economics and competitive positioning as carbon reduction becomes increasingly important.

Before committing capital to capture technology, operators benefit from committing first to understanding how their facilities emit carbon. In today’s CCUS landscape, that clarity is often what separates projects that advance from those that stall.

Author: Rajesh Gattupalli
President, Honeywell UOP

Printed in Issue 1, 2026 of Carbon Capture Magazine

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