Synthetic natural gas

The briefing assesses synthetic natural gas (SNG), produced from electrolytic hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide, concluding it is an inefficient decarbonization tool. While SNG can utilize existing natural gas infrastructure, its production is energy-intensive and costly, with landed costs in Northwest Europe estimated at 4 to 9 times the wholesale price of natural gas. The author contends that SNG creates a 'value trap' by consuming clean hydrogen that should be prioritized for sectors where no other decarbonization options exist. Furthermore, the document notes that replacing 20% of 2023 EU LNG imports with SNG would require approximately 12 million tons of clean hydrogen and roughly 17% of total U.S. electricity production.

• SNG is produced by combining electrolytic hydrogen and anthropogenic carbon dioxide via catalytic methanation, a process with a technology readiness level (TRL) of 7 based on the Sabatier reaction.
• The production of SNG is economically unviable compared to natural gas; in Northwest Europe, the landed cost of SNG is estimated to be 4 to 9 times the wholesale price of natural gas, implying carbon abatement costs between €600 and €1400 per tonne of CO2.
• SNG production is highly energy-intensive and would divert critical clean hydrogen from higher-priority applications where other decarbonization alternatives are not technically feasible.
• Scaling SNG to a meaningful level is impractical; for example, replacing 20% of 2023 EU LNG imports with SNG would require about 12 million tons of clean hydrogen and approximately 17% of all U.S. electricity production, alongside 65 million tons of annual CO2.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Synthetic natural gas. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/01111207/synthetic-natural-gas.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Synthetic natural gas. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/01111207/synthetic-natural-gas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Synthetic natural gas |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/01111207/synthetic-natural-gas.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforcendsynthetic, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Synthetic natural gas}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/01111207/synthetic-natural-gas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }