Methane storage targets are too high

Using natural gas for car fuel is a challenge, requiring massive research efforts to find materials that can efficiently store it. However, a Swiss-US study concludes that the best materials have not only been already discovered, but can only meet up to 70% of energy targets set by governments. Because of its low energy density, natural gas has to be compressed or liquefied, which makes it difficult to integrate into vehicles. A popular solution is to store natural gas inside materials with nano-sized pores, and the search for such is often propelled through governmental targets. In a collaborative study, scientists have simulated over 650,000 designs for nanoporous materials, and propose that the best candidates have already been designed, meeting 70% of the US Department of Energy targets for energy storage and making additional research in this area redundant. The study is published in Energy & Environmental Science . The urgency to discover materials that can cost-effectively store methane from natural gas into cars is reflected in governmental targets such as those set by ARPA-e, an organization under the US Department of Energy.