Methane pyrolysis and carbon-negative hydrogen

Methane pyrolysis can produce hydrogen without oxidising the carbon in the feedstock. That distinction matters, but it does not make the pathway automatically carbon negative.

The result depends on where the methane comes from, how much energy the process uses, how leakage is measured and whether the solid carbon remains stable for the long term. Biomethane can improve the balance, provided its supply chain is measured rather than assumed.

The right comparison is therefore not a headline emissions factor. It is a chain of tests that connects feedstock, process, transport, carbon handling and the wider energy system.