E-methane addresses two problems at once: 1. The grid connection backlog is pushing project timelines into the late 2030s; and 2. Demand for gas isn't disappearing by 2050. Biomethane is feedstock-limited, hydrogen is still waiting for buyers. E-methane fills the gap: a synthetic gas chemically identical to natural gas, made cleanly, injectable directly into the existing network. Rivan's version combines direct air capture of CO₂, alkaline electrolysis, and a Sabatier reactor, powered entirely by cheap solar. No grid connection, no battery backup. That's what makes it novel — the input that usually makes e-methane uneconomic becomes the cheapest part of the system. Nobody else in the world has done this.
Getting it through planning was a specific kind of difficult. Solar at scale creates landscape and visual impact issues. Gas production and transport creates safety concerns. Together they demanded careful communication: transparent enough to engage the LPA and local residents, protective enough of commercially sensitive IP, flexible enough to accommodate a technology still being developed in real time. I was the only person on the permitting team from early inception to receipt of consent.
The most useful thing I produced wasn't in any standard toolkit. I put together an Outline Safety Management Plan, taking the engineering team's detailed risk assessments and making them legible to case officers and local residents, mapped against planning policy. It forced the engineers to think concretely about long-term site operation and neighbourly impact, and gave the LPA something tangible to engage with rather than abstract specifications. The application went to planning committee and passed by a single vote, six and a half months after submission. Little Rose Lane deploys before the end of 2026. First of its kind, anywhere in the world.