Turning Methane into Carbon Nanotubes and Hydrogen

A brand new research 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, displaying that hydrogen might be obtained with low CO₂ emissions and produce high-performance carbon nanotube (CNT) supplies on the similar time. These CNTs can function sustainable alternate options to CO₂-intensive supplies like metal, aluminum, and copper. 

The development was developed by a collaborative crew 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 gasoline that may facilitate the decarbonization of industries which are difficult to impress, equivalent to aviation and delivery. 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 expertise that holds the promise of being scaled for sensible functions, providing a pathway to generate sustainable gasoline and supplies by way of a single course of. This innovation may function a pivotal step for methane pyrolysis, a way that transforms methane into turquoise hydrogen, yielding strong 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 energy and lightness superior to metal, together with glorious electrical and thermal conductivity. This distinctive mixture of traits positions them as viable alternate options to current supplies throughout varied functions, together with batteries and textiles.

You will need to observe that the FCCVD course of has historically consumed hydrogen quite than producing it.

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

Jack Peden, Examine Co-Creator and Ph.D. Pupil, Division of Engineering, College of Cambridge

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

Peden stated that assembly at this time’s hydrogen demand of round 100 million metric tonnes per 12 months utilizing methane pyrolysis would generate roughly 300 million metric tonnes of strong carbon yearly. He defined that solely a small variety of supplies are presently produced at comparable scales, most notably structural supplies equivalent to concrete, metal, and plastics.

In consequence, he argued that scaling up methane pyrolysis in a significant means would require producing carbon supplies appropriate for equally large-scale functions.

By capturing and recycling the gases inside the reactor and optimizing the furnace design, we’ve considerably diminished 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,” stated 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.