Methane splitting is emerging as a powerful technology for decarbonizing natural gas production. By transforming natural gas into hydrogen and valuable carbon materials, new pilot projects across Europe are demonstrating how existing energy resources can be used more sustainably.
Methane Splitting: A new frontier in decarbonization
At OMV, we are committed to pioneering innovative technologies that drive decarbonization and accelerate our transformation towards a low-carbon future. In addition to hydrogen produced by electrolysis, one promising breakthrough in this journey is methane splitting.
While hydrogen produced via electrolysis is essential to meet RFNBO1 criteria under the EU renewable energy directive, hydrogen from methane splitting complements our low-carbon hydrogen portfolio, as well as contributing to reducing our GHG footprint.
Hycamite pilot plant
That is the promise of methane splitting. This growing technology is moving from labs to industrial sites across Europe with the help of innovators like Hycamite in Finland and Levidian in the UK. These intrepid projects are proven to transform methane into clean hydrogen and advanced carbon materials.
As this technology moves from labs to industrial sites across Europe, experts share their insights into what methane splitting means for industry, energy, and climate action.
What is methane splitting?
At its core, methane splitting breaks the gas into two valuable components: hydrogen and solid carbon. Hydrogen provides clean fuel for heavy industries, while the carbon can be refined into high-performance materials such as graphite or graphene. Unlike conventional hydrogen production methods, this process emits minimal CO2, turning a climate problem into an industrial opportunity.
Hycamite founder Laura Rahikka
Laura Rahikka, Founder & CEO of Hycamite, explains:
“Methane splitting is a technology that takes methane gas and breaks it down into clean hydrogen and solid carbon. The process produces zero emissions. The carbon we get is a solid product, and it can be further processed into battery-grade graphite, which is very valuable. This technology is important because it can truly help decarbonize industry, and it can be done locally.”
Hycamite was founded with the vision of decarbonizing industry while strengthening Europe’s materials supply chain. The endpoint of this ambition is a catalytic methane splitting process. Levidian, meanwhile, is championing a patented method using microwave plasma to split methane.
John Hartley, Chief Executive of Levidian, highlights the process’s dual value:
“Both the carbon and hydrogen produced from methane have significant value, particularly when the carbon is in the form of graphene. Graphene is a super-material additive that can be put into a whole range of products supporting the energy transition such as solar cells and batteries. It can also be used to decarbonize legacy materials like concrete, tires and cements.”
Industrial applications
As Hartley mentioned, methane splitting produces materials and fuel with significant applications across multiple sectors.
For example, Hycamite’s process produces carbon in a solid form, which can be further refined to create battery-grade graphite precursors, carbon nanotubes and nanofibres.
Rahikka emphasizes the significance for battery production:
“The graphitic carbon we produce can be regarded as pre-graphite, which means that it can be relatively easily produced into battery-grade graphite [and] has EU battery-grade status.
This is important because over 90% of battery-grade graphite in the EU comes from China. Our local production with a low footprint enables battery manufacturing and other industries in Finland and the EU.”
With increased rollout and scaling, methane splitting would make Europe far less reliant on overseas exports for EV batteries. In doing so, it would contribute to energy security and the development of a circular economy.
Similarly, Levidian’s LOOP technology produces carbon in the form of graphene at the point of demand. Often described as a ‘wonder material’, graphene is 200 times stronger than steel, exceptionally light, and an excellent conductor of both heat and electricity. Its wider industrial adoption has historically been constrained by challenges of cost, quality, consistency and scalability, barriers that Levidian’s technology is overcoming.
Hartley notes yet further benefits for the battery industry:
“Graphene can enhance both anode and cathode performance in EV batteries, enabling up to 30% faster charging and a 27% longer battery life.”
Beyond batteries, small additions of graphene can improve the performance and lifespan of products such as thermoplastic pipes, concrete, bitumen, rubber, and paints and coatings. By improving performance, extending lifespans and reducing material use, graphene can lower emissions in some of the hardest industries to decarbonize.
Hartley continues:
“With materials such as composites, plastics, and concrete, you get longer life and less material used. For example, the graphene from a single LOOP unit in Cambridge could reduce the plastic content of 150 million plastic bottles by about 16.7%, equivalent to around 500 tonnes of plastic.”
Taking methane splitting global
Hycamite and Levidian highlight a shared challenge: scaling from pilot success to industrial deployment. This is where OMV’s role as partner and enabler in the industrial qualification is critical.
The integration of these pilot schemes into real industrial ecosystems is proving their value and usability across Europe, and the world. The experience provides insights into market demands and scaling strategies; essential for identifying where the technology can achieve the fastest and largest impact.
Rahikka recalls:
“Producing our first carbon nanofibers was exciting. When our pilot plant operated 24/7 and we produced our first kilogram of carbon, that was a highlight. OMV played an important part in this… the experience helped us learn a lot about business demand and how to scale our technology.”
With Levidian and Hycamite pioneering modular and flexible systems, companies can deploy methane splitting technologies in a variety of industrial settings. Modular units allow rapid installation, lower energy requirements, and scalable output, enabling methane to be captured and converted at sites where it would otherwise be vented or flared. This means we can rapidly expand deployment while keeping both operational costs and carbon footprints low.
As Hartley notes:
“We’re not just reducing emissions. We’re supporting circularity by capturing carbon from methane, creating hydrogen, and making advanced materials that help decarbonize other industries.”
With the support of industrial leaders, Europe is showing how this technology can deliver on decarbonization, resilience, and circularity.
Methane may be one of the world’s most potent greenhouse gases. But in the right hands, it’s also the key to a cleaner, stronger, and more sustainable industrial future.