Monolith, a Nebraska-based startup, is trying to disrupt the clean hydrogen industry with a new process that uses the pyrolysis of methane to produce hydrogen. International investment giants such as BlackRock and NextEra Energy have poured more than $300 million into Monolith, valuing Monolith at more than $1 billion.
Hydrogen energy still mainly comes from natural gas hydrogen production, industrial by-products and coke oven gas hydrogen production, etc., and most of the hydrogen is mainly produced for ammonia for fertilizers.
Since the beginning of this year, the shortage of fossil fuels and fertilizers has set off a boom in hydrogen energy investment. Many companies use renewable energy to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen, eliminating the carbon emissions associated with hydrogen production. But analysts say that until the green hydrogen industry matures, electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen will remain expensive and inefficient.
Monolith's new process for producing hydrogen using the pyrolysis of methane avoids these challenges. Rather than electrolyzing water, the company's plant in Harlem, Nebraska, uses renewable electricity to heat methane and convert it into hydrogen and carbon black, which is used to make everyday products like rubber and paint .
The company said that producing both hydrogen and carbon black products at the same time uses electricity efficiently and makes the company cost-competitive. The process is unique in that the carbon is made into carbon black instead of being buried in the ground. Many energy companies are proposing to produce hydrogen from natural gas, and then capture and store the carbon dioxide from the production process. However, carbon capture and storage is expensive in many current situations.
Monolith produces hydrogen with significantly reduced carbon emissions compared to traditional methods. The company hopes to collect and use methane produced in landfills, animal manure and plants to make hydrogen, and if enough methane can be collected, the process will remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it produces.
