Researchers at Penn State have developed a zero-gap reactor that converts surplus renewable electricity and carbon dioxide into methane fuel. By reducing internal resistance, the team scaled the system by ten times without losing efficiency, offering a potential path for long-duration energy storage using existing gas infrastructure. The process uses methanogens to process hydrogen produced from water electrolysis. While energy efficiency currently sits around 45 percent, the ability to scale the hardware makes it a viable candidate for reducing curtailment at wind and solar farms.
