But I don’t recall any articles highlighting a global shortage of methane for commercial use. Presumably, the global demand is presently met by existing suppliers. Why would more be needed?
I also assume the current suppliers only produce as much as they can sell. On the other hand, the amount of methane that will be produced as a byproduct of the production of hydrogen will depend only on the targets for hydrogen production. That won’t stop just because the methane byproduct exceeds the amount that industry can use. Will that excess be stored like the red cycle plastic that wasn’t being recycled? Or will the excess be released into the atmosphere or burnt (producing carbon dioxide)? Or maybe the mythical CCS system will store it underground (where it currently resides trapped in coal) …
As the old saying goes, you can have too much of a good thing. That’s even truer when the good thing is generally a bad thing.
I also assume the current suppliers only produce as much as they can sell. On the other hand, the amount of methane that will be produced as a byproduct of the production of hydrogen will depend only on the targets for hydrogen production. That won’t stop just because the methane byproduct exceeds the amount that industry can use. Will that excess be stored like the red cycle plastic that wasn’t being recycled? Or will the excess be released into the atmosphere or burnt (producing carbon dioxide)? Or maybe the mythical CCS system will store it underground (where it currently resides trapped in coal) …
As the old saying goes, you can have too much of a good thing. That’s even truer when the good thing is generally a bad thing.