Code and Data for “Strategies for decarbonizing natural gas with electrosynthesized methane”

Natural gas supplies nearly a quarter of the world's energy and is growing faster than any other energy source. One pathway to reduce the CO2 emission intensity of natural gas without transitioning end-use infrastructure is to synthesize a natural gas substitute from CO2 and renewable energy via electrochemical CO2 reduction. To improve the economic viability of electrogas, this work examines the possibility of using electrolyzer products without downstream separation. We quantify the electrolyzer performance needed to replicate the key heating value, safety, and emissions characteristics of natural gas. We find that, except in the case of unrealistically high device performance, directly synthesized electrogas is unable to reproduce all necessary properties of natural gas. We discover, however, a range of safe and low-emitting electrogas compositions likely achievable with current technology which can be blended with natural gas to reduce its CO2 intensity while retaining sufficient heating value.