Baker Hughes explores synthetic natural gas solutions

US energy services company Baker Hughes said June 28 it had teamed with German startup Electrochaea to help develop synthetic natural gas (SNG) from CO₂ and green hydrogen.

“Through its investment, Baker Hughes will enhance its broader carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) portfolio and provide an integrated solution for customers across the carbon dioxide (CO₂) value chain to enable the production of low carbon synthetic natural gas (SNG) from captured CO₂ and green hydrogen, helping meet demand for cleaner fuels to advance the energy transition,” Baker Hughes explained.

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Green hydrogen relies on renewable forms of energy to power an electrolyser that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Electrochaea's technology can take this hydrogen and combine it with CO₂ to produce grid-ready SNG.

“Delivering synthetic natural gas at grid scale would be a remarkable development for energy consumers,” Electrochaea CEO Mich Hein said.

Known for providing services for the upstream oil and gas business, Baker Hughes has been branching out into technologies catering to the energy transition. So far in June, the company signed memoranda of understanding with Italian contractor Rosetti Marino and with Norwegian carbon capture and storage company Borg CO₂ to develop carbon capture technology in their respective countries.

Baker Hughes takes a 15% stake in the German company and gains a seat on its board of directors.