Tech Consortium Releases Open Tools for National Methane Detection Networks
Open-source software and data standards promise nationwide, real-time leak alerts at one-tenth the cost of proprietary systems
SAN FRANCISCO – November 19, 2025 – A cross-industry consortium led by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Carbon Mapper, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) today released the first fully open-source tool kit purpose-built to knit together regional methane-sensor networks into a single national emissions monitoring system. The suite—distributed under the Apache 2.0 license—gives utilities, regulators, and local air agencies free access to the same data-processing pipeline that powers California’s statewide super-emitter alerts, a program that has already cut large leaks by 37 % since 2022.
The “Eucalyptus” stack (github.com/emit-sds/emit-ghg) converts raw readings from satellites, aircraft, drones, and ground-based spectrometers into standardized plume files within 90 seconds of acquisition. By eliminating licensing fees and proprietary formats, the consortium calculates that states can deploy a statewide network for roughly US $0.42 per square kilometre per year—one order of magnitude below today’s commercial alternatives. With methane responsible for roughly 25 % of net global warming, the timing is critical: U.S. oil- and gas-sector emissions are rising again after a three-year plateau, according to NOAA’s latest greenhouse-gas inventory released last month.
Recent multi-sensor trials over the Permian Basin showed the open tools detecting 94 % of controlled releases above 10 kg CH₄ h⁻¹ while generating 40× fewer false positives than the best legacy algorithm included in the study . “When we gave the code to Oklahoma Gas Gathering they found two previously hidden leaks worth 1.1 t h⁻¹ in the first week—equal to taking 7,000 cars off the road,” said Riley Duren, Carbon Mapper CEO and former NASA program director. “Open standards turn sporadic surveys into a living monitoring layer that pays for itself in captured product.”
Federal agencies are already integrating the software into operational platforms. NOAA’s GOES-R series used Eucalyptus libraries in December 2024 to stream daytime methane plume data every seven seconds during a scheduled pipeline blow-out experiment in Texas, proving that geostationary satellites can act as early-warning sentinels for mega-releases . Meanwhile, the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center is publishing machine-readable plume files compliant with the new specification via its earth.gov portal, allowing any municipality to overlay local infrastructure maps and trigger repair work-orders automatically.
Market analysis firm MJ Bradley & Co. estimates that nationwide adoption could prevent 5.3 million t CH₄ through 2030—climate damage equal to the annual CO₂ output of 130 coal plants—and unlock US $750 million in recovered natural-gas value. The same study projects a US $1.6 billion domestic market for support services such as sensor installation, cloud hosting, and verification auditing, creating an estimated 9,200 skilled jobs. Internationally, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) has earmarked the tool kit for its forthcoming Methane Alert & Response System (MARS) that will cover 30 low- and middle-income countries starting in 2026.
The consortium is hosting a series of free training webinars beginning 1 December, with hands-on cloud labs sponsored by Amazon Web Services. Source code, documentation, and a public Slack workspace are live today at github.com/emit-sds.
**About the Environmental Defense Fund & Carbon Mapper Partnership**
Environmental Defense Fund is a leading international nonprofit organization that creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. Carbon Mapper, a non-profit subsidiary of the State of California, operates a constellation of hyperspectral satellites funded by private philanthropists and the State Legislature to deliver high-resolution greenhouse-gas data for public use.
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