Deployment of CCS in a power plant or industrial facility generally requires the following three main steps for CO₂:

1. CO₂ capture
2. Transport
3. Storage

Several various technologies can be used to capture CO₂ at source (facility emitting CO₂). These are divided into three categories:

• pre-combustion carbon capture (the main method used in existing power plants),
• post-combustion carbon capture (used to a large extent in industrial processes),
• oxygen combustion systems.

CO₂ is separated from the exhaust gases of combustion processes. There are commercially available pre-combustion capture technologies that are used in industrial facilities. In the case of power plants, however, pre-combustion capture is still at an early phase. This technology involves the gasification of fuel and the separation of CO₂. It may be less costly than other options; however, it may only be incorporated into new facilities - the modernisation of existing facilities for pre-combustion capture is disproportionately costly. During oxygen combustion, the fuel is burnt in an environment with nearly pure oxygen instead of ordinary air, which leads to a more concentrated flow of CO₂ emissions, which are then captured more easily. Once CO₂ is captured, it is compressed to liquid and transported to a suitable storage site.

The next step involves either:

1. Direct deposition into underground geological formations where it is stored in the long term instead of being released into the atmosphere. Places where CO₂ is deposited includes former oil and natural gas storage tanks, deep salt formations and coal seams.
2. Further utilisation of CCSU or sometimes also CCUS, a broad range of possible transformations.