Fire Ice

Fire Ice, more formally methane clathrate, is a rare natural resource and fuel item that can be obtained in two ways: by collecting it from the atmosphere of Ice Giants with an Orbital Collector, or by mining Fire Ice veins on certain planets. Although it is classified as a rare material, it can appear in a home system and may be available in useful quantities across a cluster, including from gas giants and some icy or other planet types.

Its main value is as a simplifying ingredient for Graphene production. The standard Graphene recipe requires several different raw materials and extra processing steps, but Fire Ice can be refined directly in a Chemical Plant into Graphene and Hydrogen. This makes it a major convenience item in the early and mid game, especially because Graphene is needed in large amounts for advanced logistics and later technologies, including Carbon nanotubes. The output is produced at a 1:1 ratio with the Fire Ice input, so every unit of Fire Ice becomes one unit of Graphene, with Hydrogen as a byproduct.

Fire Ice also has a direct fuel use. It can be burned in Thermal Power Stations, giving it a secondary role beyond manufacturing. Even so, its industrial importance is generally much greater than its value as a power source, since its biggest advantage is reducing the complexity of Graphene supply chains.

• Fire Ice from Ice Giants is effectively infinite when collected by Orbital Collectors, while vein deposits on planets are finite.
• Some starting systems can contain Fire Ice sources, making early access possible.
• Fire Ice veins may appear on rocky or icy planets, and the resource is often more plentiful across a cluster than its “rare” status suggests.
• Because Graphene is widely used in advanced production, securing a steady Fire Ice supply can greatly ease factory scaling.
• Hydrogen produced from Fire Ice refining can be consumed elsewhere or simply discarded if surplus.