CCUS and Geothermal Are Clearly Essential, but Monetization Is Still Moving Slowly

If you follow the carbon neutrality story long enough, you eventually come back to the same question: can renewables alone really solve everything? Reality is not that simple. To cut the carbon already being emitted from industrial processes and the power sector, the discussion increasingly converges on the need for CCUS—capturing carbon from areas where eliminating emissions outright is difficult, then storing it or putting it back to use. CCUS is not just an option for net zero; it is effectively the final piece of the puzzle.

The problem is the market’s timeline. The technology exists, and the policy language is becoming clearer, but there are very few pure-play listed names in the Korean stock market that investors can buy directly. To put it more bluntly, many are still at the demonstration, pilot, or government-backed R&D project stage. Geothermal is no different. In practice, the more realistic market is heating and cooling—more specifically heat pumps—rather than power generation, and in small hydropower, it is hard to find listed companies in Korea that offer pure exposure. The opportunity is promising, but it is not yet a segment where serious money is flowing. That gap needs to be acknowledged first.

CCUS (Carbon Capture & Utilization) — Still at the Demonstration Threshold (4 companies)

If you try to map CCUS to listed Korean stocks, there are more indirect plays than you might expect. Some companies own capture technologies directly, some stand to benefit through raw materials used in absorbents for carbon capture, and some have moved from air pollution control equipment into pilot-scale CO2 capture. For CCUS investing in Korea today, the key is less about “commercial revenue” and more about reading where companies stand in technology internalization and demonstration.

Doosan Enerbility has internalized wet amine-based CO2 capture technology for power plants after taking a technology transfer from KEPCO, and is pushing toward commercialization through MW-scale demonstration projects. That said, it is still hard to argue that meaningful revenue has kicked in. UNID is the global No. 1 player in caustic potash and potassium carbonate, and the link here is that potassium carbonate is used as a raw material for CO2 capture absorbents. But it is, at the end of the day, not a carbon capture operator but more of a raw-material beneficiary. KC Cottrell is one of Korea’s top players in air pollution control, including electrostatic precipitators, desulfurization, and denitrification, while its CO2 capture business remains at the 1 ton/day pilot stage. KPX Green Chemical is developing carbonate and CO2 utilization materials, but its core business is surfactants, and its CCU work is still at the government-backed R&D stage. The upside story is there, but the commercial story visible in the numbers is still limited.

Company	Core focus · stage
Doosan Enerbility	Internalized wet (amine) CO2 capture technology for power plants (transferred from KEPCO) · linked to MW-scale demonstration — pursuing commercialization (pre-revenue)
UNID	Global No. 1 in caustic potash and potassium carbonate — potassium carbonate is a raw material for CO2 capture absorbents (not a capture business, but a raw-material beneficiary)
KC Cottrell	Korea top-tier in air pollution control including electrostatic precipitators, flue gas desulfurization (FGD), and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) (~70–80%) + CO2 capture pilot (1 ton/day)
KPX Green Chemical	Carbonates (EC/DMC) + CO2 utilization (CCU) materials — core business is surfactants (~95%), with CCU still at the government-backed R&D stage

Geothermal & Niche Renewables — A Small but Real Market (2 companies)

When it comes to geothermal and niche renewables, it’s even more important to separate the image the term evokes from the actual market. Geothermal may immediately bring power generation to mind, but in Korea the real business is much more clearly centered on heating and cooling design and construction using geothermal heat pumps. What about small hydro? It gets talked about a lot, but in the domestic stock market there are effectively no listed companies that offer pure-play exposure. Niche renewables like geothermal and small hydro may have a big narrative, but in Korea’s listed market, most exposure is indirect rather than through pure plays.

GNOne Energy is widely cited as a domestic leader in geothermal and hydrothermal heating and cooling—that is, geothermal heat pump design and construction. Its references, such as Lotte World Tower and the Sejong Government Complex, are also heating and cooling projects, not geothermal power generation. That distinction matters. Daemyung Energy is a company engaged in renewable power development, EPC, and O&M across wind, solar, and BESS, and it carries the symbolic distinction of being the first renewable-specialist company to list in 2022. It also discloses its operating scale, so the business has clear substance. Even so, like CCUS, this is not really a “next-generation demonstration” story, but something closer to an already existing renewable development and operations business.

Company	Core focus · stage
GNOne Energy	Domestic leader in geothermal and hydrothermal heating/cooling (geothermal heat pump) design and construction — Lotte World Tower · Sejong Government Complex (heating/cooling, not geothermal power generation)
Daemyung Energy	Renewable power development, EPC, and O&M across wind, solar, and BESS — first renewable-specialist company to list in 2022 (operating ~278MW)

What to Watch Going Forward

The overall direction ahead is relatively clear. If net zero is a serious goal, CCUS will inevitably keep gaining traction, and as the energy transition in buildings and public infrastructure continues, heating and cooling solutions like geothermal heat pumps are also likely to be reassessed. That said, it would be a stretch to lump this space together as a single growth-stock theme right now. In Korea, there are only a handful of pure-play listed names, and even among them, many are still in the demonstration or early-stage phase. What really matters is not whether the technology exists, but when it actually translates into commercial revenue.

That is why this theme always demands both optimism and patience. Doosan Enerbility’s push to commercialize carbon capture technology, UNID’s exposure to absorbent raw materials, KC Cottrell’s pilot projects, KPX Green Chemical’s government-backed R&D programs, GNW Energy’s geothermal heating and cooling, and Daemyung Energy’s renewable operations capabilities each have their own significance. But this is still not the stage where you can say, “It looks promising, so it will make money right away.” The real thing to watch in this sector is not technology hype, but the moment commercialization timing and economic viability are proven in hard numbers.

※ This article organizes company names, core businesses, and technology stages based on publicly available materials verified on the web, and some assessments reflect the author’s own views. CCUS and geothermal remain in the early stages of commercialization and should not be taken as a direct basis for investment decisions.

Written: 2026. 7. Ealexandro