Monolith nets $300 million in new round of funding

LINCOLN, Neb.—Monolith Corp. has secured more than $300 million in its latest investment round of funding, the Nebraska-based "clean" carbon black maker has announced.

This investment will support R&D toward providing "next generation" hydrogen, ammonia and carbon capabilities and other corporate-level expansion projects.

The funding initiative was led by TPG Rise Climate's "climate investing" platform TPG Rise and Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek.

The company previously secured investment from NextEra Energy Resources L.L.C., SK Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc. and Azimuth Capital Management L.L.C.

Monolith, headquartered in Lincoln, produces hydrogen and carbon black via a proprietary breakthrough in commercial-scale methane pyrolysis.

The company was founded in 2012 and currently operates its first commercial-scale production facility in Hallam, while another U.S. facility is expected to be completed in 2026.

Monolith started the production of "green" carbon black at its 500,000-sq.-ft. facility in Hallam in the fall last year, and mainly supplies to the tire industry.

The company is currently carrying out an expansion project at the site to increase carbon black yield from 14 metric kilotons per annum (ktpa) to 120-160 ktpa by 2024.

Monolith claims to be the first U.S. manufacturer to produce clean hydrogen using methane pyrolysis at scale.

This innovation, it said, has led SK to sign a memorandum of understanding last October with Monolith to produce clean hydrogen and carbon black in South Korea.

The technology has also attracted a collaboration agreement and letter of intent with Goodyear in late 2021, Monolith said.

"Monolith has established itself as a technology leader in methane pyrolysis, providing sustainable and low-cost hydrogen and carbon black from natural gas," said Meghan Sharp, global head of Decarbonization Partners.

"We see significant opportunity for the company to continue scaling its technology, enabling the decarbonization of a broad range of important end markets," added Sharp.

Monolith has also recently received conditional approval for a $1 billion loan from a U.S. 'energy loan' agency to expand its production facilities in Nebraska.