SK makes strategic investment in Monolith Materials, world’s first cyan hydrogen production company.
Accelerating the realization of the hydrogen business roadmap SK holdings (CEO Dong-hyun Jang), an investment company, is accelerating the expansion of eco-friendly hydrogen business, a key area of ESG management, by investing in Monolith, a US company that succeeded in mass production of cyan hydrogen for the first time in the world.
As a strategic partner in the hydrogen business, Monolith highly appreciated the expertise and competitiveness of SK Corporation, and as a leading investor, SK Corporation also secured a seat on the Monolith Board of Directors. In this investment, which was completed on the 3rd, Nextera, the largest power generation and renewable energy development company in the United States, also participated.
Cyan hydrogen is hydrogen produced by injecting natural gas containing methane (CH4) as a main component into a high-temperature reactor and decomposing it into hydrogen (H2) and solid carbon (C)*. Since carbon dioxide is not generated during the production process, it is classified as an eco-friendly clean hydrogen along with Blue Hydrogen** and Green Hydrogen***.
🔥 What about we co-host a webinar? Let's educate, captivate, and convert the hydrogen economy!
Hydrogen Central is the global go-to online magazine for the hydrogen economy, we can help you host impactful webinars that become a global reference on your topic and are an evergreen source of leads. Click here to request more details
The competitiveness of cyan hydrogen is that it has the economic feasibility of blue hydrogen and the eco-friendliness of green hydrogen. The conversion process from blue hydrogen to green hydrogen because carbon dioxide is not generated during the production process, so it does not have to go through the carbon capture and storage (CCUS) process essential for blue hydrogen production, and it can be produced with less electricity than green hydrogen. It has great value as a strategic alternative to In particular, since it is expected to take a lot of time to mass-produce green hydrogen, such as securing the supply stability of new and renewable energy and commercializing water electrolysis technology (a technology that extracts hydrogen from water), expectations and interest in cyan hydrogen are growing day by day.
SK makes strategic investment in Monolith Materials, world’s first cyan hydrogen production company
SK Holdings, which is pursuing a strategy to foster the hydrogen business in various ways, such as diversifying hydrogen production methods, expanding demand development, and preoccupying the global market, has secured leadership in clean hydrogen by adding a green hydrogen portfolio to the hydrogen business value chain and spurred the expansion of the global hydrogen ecosystem. aim to do In particular, it is expected to further enhance the execution power of the hydrogen business roadmap, which aims to establish a clean hydrogen production system with a scale of 280,000 tons by 2025.
Monolith, located in the state of Nebraska, USA, was established in 2012 and possesses the original technology to produce high-purity cyanide and solid carbon by injecting natural gas into an independently developed reactor and then pyrolyzing it.
Monolith completed the world’s first cyan hydrogen mass-production plant in June 2020, and is evaluated to be the only company in the world with process technology that has entered the commercialization stage. Monolith plans to continuously expand its cyan hydrogen production facility.
On the other hand, Monolith is additionally producing eco-friendly solid carbon such as carbon black during the cyan hydrogen generation process. Carbon black is widely used as an essential raw material for rubber parts for tires and machinery. In particular, as the demand for eco-friendly solid carbon is increasing centering on the global tire industry, which is actively promoting decarbonization, high profits are expected in the future.
At the end of last year, SK holdings established the ‘Hydrogen Business Promotion Team’, a group-level dedicated organization for hydrogen business, and established a value chain from hydrogen production-distribution-consumption by 2025 by consolidating the capabilities of affiliates to become the global No. The goal was to become a hydrogen company. SK plans to produce a total of 280,000 tons of hydrogen by using SK Incheon Petrochemical’s byproduct hydrogen to produce about 30,000 tons of liquid hydrogen from 2023 and an additional 250,000 tons of eco-friendly clean hydrogen from 2025.
In addition, SK Co., Ltd. invested about 1.8 trillion won with SK E&S in January this year to secure about a 10% stake in US Plug Power, a global hydrogen leader, and became the largest shareholder. relationship is being refined.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
An SK Corporation official said, “As the global hydrogen market is expected to grow rapidly, the competition to secure hydrogen technology is intensifying.” “Through monolith investment, SK Corporation has secured a clean hydrogen source technology that can be commercialized immediately, and green hydrogen We will implement various measures to build our portfolio one step ahead.”
Rob Hanson, co-founder and CEO of Monolith Materials:
When evaluating potential investors, it was critical that we work alongside organizations that share Monolith Materials’ vision for a decarbonized world that includes green hydrogen
“SK and NextEra Energy Resources are global clean energy leaders that share our enthusiasm about the promise of green hydrogen, and we are honored to have them by our side in our pursuit of a clean energy future.”
Notes:
*Solid carbon: Carbon in powder form, a by-product of the cyan hydrogen production process. It is processed into carbon black, the main component of tires, and sold.
**Blue Hydrogen: Hydrogen produced mainly by extracting hydrogen from natural gas. Carbon dioxide produced additionally during the process is captured and stored in rock formations.
***Green hydrogen: Hydrogen produced without carbon dioxide in the entire production process. A water electrolysis method that extracts hydrogen (H2) from water (H20) is mainly used. Electricity used in the water electrolysis process is also recognized as green hydrogen only when it is produced in an eco-friendly way such as renewable energy.
SK Co., Ltd. invests in the world’s first cyan hydrogen production company… Accelerating hydrogen business expansion, 2021.06.03
