World’s First Synthetic Natural Gas Manufacturing Facility Opens in UK

Key Points

• The UK has opened its first manufacturing facility dedicated to synthetic natural gas (SNG) systems, according to Skye Morley of Energy Live News.
• The facility covers more than 60,000 square feet and is described as the first of its kind globally.
• Rivan Industries is developing modular SNG systems designed to convert renewable electricity, water and carbon dioxide into synthetic methane.
• The company’s current system has a 1MW capacity and is designed to operate using electricity from off-grid solar assets.
• Rivan plans for the facility to manufacture up to 50 systems a year once fully operational.
• The company expects the development to support more than 100 jobs over the next 12 months.
• Rivan aims to bring up to 1TWh of synthetic natural gas online within three years, according to Energy Live News.
• The development comes as the UK continues to rely substantially on imported fossil gas, with imports accounting for around 67% of gas demand in 2025, according to the Energy Live News report.
• Rivan has already deployed a full-scale 1MW SNG system and says its next challenge is commissioning and scaling production.
• The company is also working with Wales & West Utilities on a commercial SNG project intended to connect to the GB gas network.

Britain Today News (BTN) October 7, 2026 – The UK has opened a more than 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility dedicated to synthetic natural gas systems, marking a major step in Rivan Industries’ plans to manufacture modular systems for producing synthetic gas from renewable energy. The facility is described by Energy Live News journalist Skye Morley as the world’s first manufacturing facility of its kind and one of the largest new manufacturing facilities to open in London for more than two decades. Rivan intends to manufacture up to 50 systems annually once the site becomes fully operational, while creating more than 100 roles over the next year and working towards its target of bringing up to 1TWh of synthetic natural gas online within three years.

What has opened at Rivan Industries’ new UK manufacturing facility?

The new facility represents a move from development and prototype work towards repeat manufacturing of synthetic natural gas equipment.

As reported by Skye Morley of Energy Live News, the facility covers more than 60,000 square feet and is the first manufacturing facility in the world specifically associated with Rivan’s SNG systems. The report also describes it as one of the largest new manufacturing facilities to open in London in more than 20 years.

Rivan Industries is developing equipment designed to manufacture synthetic natural gas by combining hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a reactor.

The company’s technology is based around a modular system rather than a conventional large, bespoke synthetic-fuel plant. This is intended to allow multiple units to be manufactured and deployed at different locations.

The opening of the facility therefore represents an industrial scaling stage for Rivan rather than simply the launch of another research or demonstration site.

Industrial News reported separately that the South London facility, known as Production Base 1, brings fabrication, assembly, testing, research and engineering together at one site. The publication said the site is intended to manufacture as many as 50 modular 1MW systems annually.

How does Rivan’s synthetic natural gas technology work?

Rivan’s SNG system is designed to use renewable electricity, water and carbon dioxide to produce synthetic methane.

The 1MW modular system takes electricity from dedicated off-grid solar generation. That electricity is used to produce hydrogen from water through electrolysis. Hydrogen is then combined with carbon dioxide in a reactor to produce synthetic natural gas.

Energy Live News reported that Rivan’s integrated system takes electricity from off-grid solar assets and converts it into hydrogen and carbon dioxide before feeding those inputs into a reactor that produces SNG.

Rivan’s own technical information provides further detail on the architecture of its system. The company says its 1MW platform incorporates an electrolyser, reactor, power management and control systems, carbon dioxide supply and other balance-of-plant equipment.

The company has also described its process as vertically integrated, meaning it is developing and manufacturing key parts of the system itself rather than relying entirely on separately engineered equipment.

This approach is intended to reduce manufacturing costs and make the systems suitable for repeat production.

Why is synthetic natural gas significant for UK energy security?

The development comes against a background of continued UK reliance on imported gas.

According to the Energy Live News report by Skye Morley, imports met approximately 67% of UK gas demand in 2025. The figure highlights the role that imported fossil gas continues to play in the country’s energy system.

Rivan is seeking to address part of this dependence by developing domestic production of synthetic gas using renewable energy.

The company has previously argued that synthetic fuels can provide alternatives for sectors where direct electrification is difficult. Its technology is particularly aimed at producing fuels that can potentially use existing gas infrastructure.

In April 2026, Rivan announced a partnership with Wales & West Utilities to develop what it described as the UK’s first commercial SNG facility connected to the GB gas network. The proposed project is located in Wiltshire.

According to Rivan, the project is intended to demonstrate how synthetic gas could be produced domestically and injected into the existing network.

The company says its SNG is chemically identical to fossil-derived natural gas and is designed as a drop-in replacement that can use existing pipelines and appliances.

How many synthetic natural gas systems will the UK facility manufacture?

Rivan plans for the manufacturing facility to eventually produce as many as 50 systems per year.

Energy Live News reported that the facility will operate on a semi-automated basis when fully operational and manufacture up to 50 systems annually. Those systems are intended to be deployed at sites across the UK for SNG production.

Industrial News similarly reported that Production Base 1 is designed around annual manufacturing capacity of up to 50 modular 1MW systems.

The planned production model is important because Rivan is attempting to move away from building individual synthetic-fuel plants as bespoke projects.

Instead, the company is seeking to establish a repeatable manufacturing process in which standardised units can be produced and deployed in arrays.

Rivan said in its August 2026 announcement that the 1MW system was designed to scale into arrays containing hundreds or thousands of systems.

The immediate target, however, is the successful operation and production of the first systems at the new facility.

What progress has Rivan already made with its 1MW system?

The factory opening follows the deployment of Rivan’s first full-scale 1MW SNG system.

In an August 12 announcement, Rivan said it had deployed the full-scale system at its UK facility. The company stated that the system was then undergoing commissioning.

The 1MW system represents a substantial increase from Rivan’s earlier 100kW development platform.

Rivan said it had previously validated its 100kW reactor and electrolyser performance and produced SNG meeting the relevant gas specification for injection into the European gas grid. It then said it had scaled the technology to a 1MW system within 168 days.

The company has also said that its system incorporates dedicated off-grid solar generation, allowing the SNG production equipment to be integrated directly with renewable electricity.

According to Rivan, this design is intended to reduce the peripheral equipment normally associated with grid connections and conventional process plants.

The company has set ambitious cost targets for the technology, but those targets remain dependent on commissioning, operating performance and the ability to manufacture the systems consistently at scale.

What jobs could the new synthetic gas factory create?

The new facility is also expected to have an employment impact.

Energy Live News reported that the development is expected to facilitate more than 100 roles during the next 12 months.

Those jobs form part of the transition from technology development towards manufacturing and deployment.

Industrial News reported that Rivan is recruiting across areas including production, assembly, supply chain and regulatory work as the company expands its manufacturing activities.

Rivan’s expansion has also involved engineering and technical recruitment. Its wider manufacturing strategy requires personnel capable of developing, assembling, testing and maintaining the different components that make up the integrated SNG platform.

The scale of recruitment will depend on how quickly the facility moves from initial manufacturing towards the planned annual output.

What is Rivan’s target for synthetic natural gas production?

Rivan has set a target of bringing up to 1TWh of SNG online within three years, according to Energy Live News.

The target forms part of a wider strategy to expand synthetic-fuel production in the UK and eventually other markets.

Rivan has previously set longer-term ambitions for production. In its April announcement with Wales & West Utilities, the company said it was targeting production of up to 1 billion cubic metres of SNG annually by 2036, which it compared with around 20% of UK industrial demand at the time.

These longer-term targets depend on the successful development, manufacture and deployment of large numbers of modular systems.

The opening of Production Base 1 is therefore an important part of the manufacturing infrastructure required for such expansion, but the factory itself does not establish that the longer-term production targets will be achieved.

What role could existing gas infrastructure play in Rivan’s plans?

One of the central features of Rivan’s approach is the potential use of existing gas infrastructure.

Rivan has stated that synthetic natural gas can act as a substitute for fossil natural gas because it has the same chemical characteristics. The company says this could allow SNG to be transported through existing pipelines and used in existing equipment.

That proposition is particularly relevant to industrial users that currently depend on gaseous fuels and may face difficulties converting their processes directly to electricity.

Wales & West Utilities has already agreed to work with Rivan on a project intended to connect SNG production to the GB gas network. The partnership is designed to test the practical use of renewable synthetic gas within existing infrastructure.

Matthew Hindle, Head of Net Zero and Sustainability at Wales & West Utilities, said in the company’s April announcement that the utility was supporting development of green gases and viewed Rivan’s technology as having potential for renewable gases within a future decarbonised gas network.

What are the next steps for Rivan’s manufacturing operation?

The immediate challenge is moving from development-scale manufacturing to repeatable commercial production.

Industrial News reported that the first production systems are expected to move through the manufacturing process from 2027, while the company intends to use Production Base 1 as a model for potential future manufacturing expansion.

The 1MW system already deployed by Rivan remains central to this process.

The company said in August that commissioning of the system was under way. Rivan also stated that it was preparing its first large-scale production run and expected Production Base 1 to be fully ramped by the end of the following year, with capacity for up to 50 systems annually.

Industrial News noted that manufacturing scale alone will not establish the commercial case. The systems will need to demonstrate the required efficiency, reliability, gas quality and operating life as production increases.

That means the factory opening is an important manufacturing milestone, while technical commissioning and commercial deployment remain separate stages of the project.

What is the background to Rivan’s synthetic fuel development?

Rivan has been developing synthetic-fuel technology in the UK for several years.

In May 2025, the company announced that it had raised £10 million in funding led by Plural, with participation from 20VC, NFDG and investors including Patrick and John Collison. The funding was intended to support research and development involving its electrolyser, direct-air-capture and Sabatier reactor technologies and to scale its pilot operation towards 1MW.

At that stage, Rivan said it had a 10,000-square-foot factory in Bermondsey and had deployed a 100kW pilot system at a former UK military site.

The company subsequently progressed towards its full-scale 1MW system.

In April 2026, Rivan announced its partnership with Wales & West Utilities for the proposed Wiltshire project, describing it as the first commercial SNG facility intended to connect to the GB gas network.

By August, Rivan had announced deployment of its full-scale 1MW system, establishing the technical platform around which the new manufacturing facility is being developed.

The October opening therefore represents the next stage in that progression: from pilot development, through full-scale system deployment, towards repeat manufacturing.

How could the development affect UK energy and industrial users?

For UK industrial energy users, the development could create another potential source of gaseous fuel if Rivan’s technology achieves its stated production, cost and reliability objectives.

Industries that depend on high-temperature processes or gaseous feedstocks may have fewer direct electrification options than sectors where electrical alternatives are already widely available. Synthetic natural gas could potentially provide a fuel that is compatible with existing gas infrastructure.

For UK energy companies and gas-network operators, the development could also provide a technology to assess alongside other low-carbon gases, including biomethane and hydrogen.

The planned connection project with Wales & West Utilities will be particularly relevant because it could provide evidence about the practical integration of SNG into the existing GB gas network.

For UK manufacturers and engineering workers, the facility creates opportunities linked to the production of renewable-energy equipment, including manufacturing, assembly, engineering and supply-chain roles.

For UK energy-security policymakers, domestic production could potentially reduce exposure to imported fossil gas if synthetic gas can eventually be produced at sufficient scale and at competitive prices.

However, the impact will depend on the technology’s commercial performance. The facility’s planned capacity and Rivan’s production targets are company objectives; their eventual contribution to the UK’s energy system will depend on successful commissioning, manufacturing scale-up, project deployment, operating performance and demand.

What is the prediction for UK energy users and manufacturers?

The most immediate effect is likely to be increased activity around UK synthetic-fuel manufacturing, rather than an immediate transformation of the national gas market.

If Rivan succeeds in producing its 1MW systems repeatedly and at the planned rate, the new facility could establish a domestic manufacturing base for modular SNG equipment and support deployment at multiple sites.

For industrial energy users, successful deployment could eventually provide another option for reducing reliance on conventional fossil gas where direct electrification is difficult.

For gas-network operators, projects such as the planned Wiltshire connection could provide practical evidence on how synthetic gas can be integrated into existing infrastructure.

For UK manufacturers, the facility could demonstrate whether synthetic-fuel equipment can be produced using a repeat manufacturing model rather than through one-off plant construction.

The next significant indicators will therefore be the commissioning results of Rivan’s 1MW system, the first production units from the new facility, the company’s ability to reach its planned annual manufacturing capacity and progress on commercial gas-network projects.