Methane hydrates are the single biggest source of fossil fuel on planet earth and play a role in climate change. The molecular process of their formation is not known and heavily debated. In a paper in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B, researchers at the Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) now provide insight in methane hydrate formation. They performed atomistic scale molecular simulations that help establish the key thermodynamic and kinetic properties.