Turning Methane into Carbon Nanotubes and Hydrogen

A brand new examine describes how methane might be reworked into hydrogen and high-performance carbon nanotube supplies.

Researchers on the College of Cambridge report this transformation in Nature Power, exhibiting that hydrogen might be obtained with low CO₂ emissions and produce high-performance carbon nanotube (CNT) supplies on the identical time. These CNTs can function sustainable options to CO₂-intensive supplies like metal, aluminum, and copper. 

The development was developed by a collaborative workforce from the College of Cambridge and Stanford College, who’ve enhanced a continuous-flow reactor to enhance its effectivity with out sacrificing the standard of the versatile and high-value nanotubes.

Hydrogen is more and more acknowledged as a sustainable gas that may facilitate the decarbonization of industries which might be difficult to affect, corresponding to aviation and transport. The worldwide manufacturing of hydrogen stands at 100 million metric tons yearly, primarily serving as a feedstock for industrial processes like ammonia manufacturing, which is important for synthetic fertilizers.

This hydrogen technology is predominantly depending on steam methane reforming of pure gasoline, a course of that’s extremely CO₂-intensive and accounts for 2-3 % of worldwide greenhouse gasoline emissions.

The researchers have launched the know-how that holds the promise of being scaled for sensible purposes, providing a pathway to generate sustainable gas and supplies by a single course of. This innovation might function a pivotal step for methane pyrolysis, a way that transforms methane into turquoise hydrogen, yielding stable carbon and thereby stopping CO₂ emissions.

The continual-flow reactor developed by the researchers employs a extremely adaptable and scalable technique often called floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD), which facilitates the continual mass manufacturing of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) within the type of mats, fibers, and aerogels.

These CNT supplies possess power and lightness superior to metal, together with glorious electrical and thermal conductivity. This distinctive mixture of traits positions them as viable options to present supplies throughout numerous purposes, together with batteries and textiles.

It is very important word that the FCCVD course of has historically consumed hydrogen somewhat than producing it.

We had been capable of overcome this downside by recycling gases inside our reactor in a multi-pass configuration, which allowed the manufacturing of hydrogen and CNTs on the identical time.

Jack Peden, Examine Co-Writer and Ph.D. Scholar, Division of Engineering, College of Cambridge

“The nanotubes produced within the multi-pass reactor possessed comparable properties to these made in a traditional reactor, with the effectivity being many occasions larger than the traditional one,” mentioned Peden.

Peden mentioned that assembly right now’s hydrogen demand of round 100 million metric tonnes per yr utilizing methane pyrolysis would generate roughly 300 million metric tonnes of stable carbon yearly. He defined that solely a small variety of supplies are presently produced at comparable scales, most notably structural supplies corresponding to concrete, metal, and plastics.

Consequently, he argued that scaling up methane pyrolysis in a significant approach would require producing carbon supplies appropriate for equally large-scale purposes.

By capturing and recycling the gases throughout the reactor and optimizing the furnace design, we now have considerably decreased the vitality required to run the method.

James Elliott, Examine Co-author, Division of Supplies Science and Metallurgy, College of Cambridge

“The carbon nanomaterials produced already present promise in batteries and textiles, and will in future be utilized in light-weight composites, constructing supplies, or high-voltage electrical cables. As a result of these supplies have substantial financial worth, their sale can offset working prices, making methane pyrolysis a commercially aggressive path to low-carbon hydrogen,” mentioned Elliott.

Journal Reference:

Peden, J. et al. (2026). Manufacturing of hydrogen and carbon nanotubes from methane utilizing a multi-pass floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition reactor with course of gasoline recycling. Nature Power. DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01925-3.