A particularly efficient way of generating hydrogen (10 kWh/kg) is the methane plasmalysis. In this process, methane (e.g. from natural gas) is decomposed in the plasma under oxygen exclusion, forming hydrogen and elemental carbon, as in the following reaction equation:
Methane plasmalysis offers, among other things, the possibility of decentralized decarbonization of natural gas or, if biogas is used, also the realization of a CO2 sink, whereby, in contrast to the CCS process commonly used to date, no gas has to be compressed and stored, but the elemental carbon produced can be bound in product form.
This technology can also be used to prevent the flaring of so-called "flare gases" by using them as a feedstock for the production of hydrogen and carbon.