Monolith, SK mull clean carbon black plant in South Korea

Lincoln, Nebraska – Clean hydrogen and carbon black manufacturer Monolith Materials has signed a memorandum of understanding with SK Inc. to scale up its green technology with a joint venture outside the US. 

As part of the MoU, Monolith will share its production and technology knowledge with SK Inc. to produce hydrogen and carbon black products in South Korea. 

For its part, SK Inc. will oversee the production, sales and distribution of these products in that market, the two partners announced in a joint statement 13 Oct. 

Founded in 2012, Monolith has developed a technology that uses renewable energy to convert natural gas into clean hydrogen and carbon black.

The company currently operates a production facility in Hallam, Nebraska, with plans for additional US-based growth already underway.

The two partners started their collaboration earlier in the summer when SK Inc. led Monolith's most recent round of fund-raising to support its expansion plans. 

Monolith started the production of 'green' carbon black at its 500,000-sq.-ft. facility in Hallam in autumn 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 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) to 120-160 ktpa by 2024.

“We’re eager to continue our collaboration with SK Inc. to ensure cleanly-produced hydrogen and carbon products are available around the world,” said Monolith CEO Rob Hanson.

“Climate change is requiring markets around the world to dramatically transform their energy systems and... their value chain," said Moohwan Kim, executive vice president, SK Inc. 

SK Inc., he said, plans to collaborate with Monolith to expand its technologies globally to create new models for clean energy.