Monolith Corp. (former Monolith Materials) was founded in 2012 by Rob Hanson and Pete Johnson with the hope to cleanly convert methane into solid carbon and turquoise hydrogen.

Between 2013 and 2015, Monolith Seaport pilot plant was built and in 2015 it begun producing. This is a key differentiator of Monolith from others in the space. Their pilot project ran from 2016 till 2018 and successfully determined the product range and reliability, demonstrated yield, and stockpiled samples for further testing that were also proved successful. Finally, in Q2 of 2020 the company reached mechanical completion of its commercial-scale plant Olive Creek 1 (OC1) in Nebraska. There, they started producing H2 and solid carbon (carbon black) that is already being sold to end customers. From 2021 forward, the company expands its Olive Creek facility and begins developing additional sites to serve global demand for carbon-free hydrogen and clean carbon black.

Monolith produces solid carbon and hydrogen through methane pyrolysis using renewable energies. With the construction of OC2, Monolith will also be producing ammonia.

Since their creation, Monolith has raised $64,3 Million in funding over 7 rounds. Monolith Materials is funded by 2 investors. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Azimuth Capital Management are the most recent investors. Their latest funding was raised in Nov 2020 from a Corporate Round. In December 2021, Monolith received conditional approval for a 1 billion dollar US Department of Energy Loan. Established via the Title XVII Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee Program, the loan will allow Monolith to expand its clean hydrogen and carbon black production facilities in Hallam, Nebraska, U.S.A.

Hydrogen is sold as an end-product to direct users while carbon black is processed to have 3 main products:

• Tires (Inner Liner, Sidewall, Carcass, Tread, Bead)
• Mechanical Rubber Goods (Hoses, Belts, Molded Goods, Extrusion Goods, Seals and Gaskets, Some Commodity Plastics)
• Speciality / Others (Metallurgy, Inks, Wire and Cable, Batteries, Food Containment)

When OC2 is finished, ammonia will also be at sale. The production estimates 275,000 tons per year of carbon-free anhydrous ammonia.

Methane Pyrolysis

• Step 1: NG and/or RNG, used as feedstocks, enter the reactor to start the process. A process gas con be added to help heat the natural gas.
• Step 2: The NG is super-heated by renewable electricity inside the reactor. Since there is no flame, this is a locally CO2-free process.
• Step 3: This heat breaks the bonds between the carbon and hydrogen in the neutral gas molecule.
• Step 4: The pairs of hydrogen atoms and carbon atoms move through the chamber and exit it separately.
• Step 5: Both the carbon black and the hydrogen leave the chamber and enter a main unit filter. From here the H2 is directed to its end user while the carbon black is finished with a traditional process.

Hydrogen as an end-product can be used for ammonia production for fertilizers, as a transportation fuel, for the desulfurization of fuels and as an energy carrier. On the other hand, carbon black is a common, essential material found in everyday product like car tires, automotive and industrial hoses and belts, plastics, inks and food packaging.