Research · the field study
The field studyAbandoned-mine methane in the EU
Before Aftermine had a name, it had a field study. It drills into one problem — methane seeping from Europe’s closed coal mines — as a scrolling descent: the inventory, one mine’s modelled twin, a first abatement unit, and the company thesis at depth.
Every figure in the study is modelled or estimated and stamped as such; nothing is measured, because for these mines almost nothing has been. That gap between modelled and measured is not a footnote of the research. It is the thesis — and the first product.
Four acts · the descent that became a company
- I
The inventory
Discover and document the problem
- II
The shaft
Enter the mine's digital twin
- III
The working face
Design and deploy interventions
- IV
At depth
Inspect the evidence, assumptions and results
What the mitigation is worth
Kilotonnes of CH₄ per year, by scale. Multiply by 82.5 for the 20-year CO₂-equivalent lens, 29.8 for the 100-year — both are always shown together.
| Scale | kt CH₄ / yr | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| One good site | 1–3 | Estimated |
| The six named mines | ≈102 | Modelled |
| EU ceiling — all abandoned underground mines | 185–200 | Modelled |
| Global abandoned coal mines | 4500–5000 | Estimated |
Sources · the ground the research stands on
Every number traces to evidence.
- Global Energy Monitor — Global Coal Mine Tracker, abandoned-mine methane dataset (June 2024)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 on methane emissions reduction in the energy sector, Arts. 24–26
- IPCC AR6 WG1, Chapter 7, Table 7.15 — GWP of fossil-origin methane
- Kholod et al. 2020 — Global methane emissions from coal mining to continue growing even with declining coal production
- UNECE Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Management, No. 64
The study lives on this site in full — the interactive version: the seam field and its dossiers, the modelled digital twin, the abatement unit, and the venture thesis at depth, with the shaft gauge running the whole descent.