Bottled Lightning Makes a Cleaner Fuel
April 15, 2026
Bursts of plasma convert methane into methanol without high heat and pressures
Dayne Swearer and his team have discovered a cleaner, electrified way to convert methane directly into methanol in a single step. Using tiny bursts of plasma in water with a copper-oxide catalyst, the process bypasses the extreme heat and pressure required by current industrial methods and could offer a more efficient path to producing this widely used chemical building block.