Methane, the main ingredient found in natural gas, is used chiefly as a burning fuel; alternatively, it can be converted into a useful mixture called synthesis gas. Despite advances in the field, methane’s versatile use is hindered by its low intrinsic reactivity. The principal strategy the EU-funded BECAME project will follow to increase methane's reactivity is to use one transition metal complex to activate the carbon-hydrogen bonds, and another transition metal complex to catalyse the methylation process. BECAME researchers expect the proposed method to reveal more about catalytic cross-coupling reactions and carbon-hydrogen activation, and serve as a fundamental basis for efficient and sustainable methane functionalisation.