Molten Industries, a start-up that converts natural gas into clean graphite and hydrogen, has closed a $25m million Series A financing round, according to a news release.
The raise was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), with new participation from Sozo Ventures, Mark Heising, and Steelhead Capital. Existing investors also participated in the round, including Union Square Ventures, 50 Years, J4 Ventures, Moai Capital, UVC Partners, Jane Woodward, and Peter Attia. Molten will use this funding to build its first modular commercial reactor in Oakland and become a leading producer of graphite for lithium-ion batteries and clean hydrogen to decarbonize the chemical and steel industries.
Dr. Caleb Boyd and Dr. Kevin Bush, members of the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program, founded Molten in 2021 with a mission to decarbonize the world’s heavy industries. Molten is revolutionizing the battery industry by producing a drop-in, lithium-ion battery grade graphite from natural gas and renewable electricity, the release states. This will allow Molten to fundamentally change the cost structure and geographic constraints of the global graphite supply chain. Additionally, their process can produce clean hydrogen as a valuable co-product which can be used to decarbonize other industries, such as steel and chemical production.
Graphite is one of the most important minerals in batteries, and as manufacturing and EVs scale up around the world, nations are increasingly focusing on securing reliable supplies of critical materials like graphite. Diversified supply chains are a critical part of scaling up battery manufacturing and Molten’s technology gives countries like the U.S. a way to produce it with domestic feedstocks and at lower cost.
Molten Industries CTO, Caleb Boyd, expressed excitement for Molten’s hydrogen co-product, stating, “Clean liquid fuels, ammonia for fertilizers, plastics, and green steel all require a hydrogen feedstock that can compete on cost with petroleum-based products. There is a severe pain point in the chemical, steel, and transportation industries to find a clean and economical source of hydrogen as feedstocks for their products. Molten’s methane pyrolysis technology solves this pain point.” Molten is currently looking to site its first commercial plant to produce 5,000 tonnes of hydrogen and 15,000 tonnes of graphite per year, which will consist of roughly 20 modular commercial reactors, at a chemical or steel plant.
“Establishing reliable sources of critical materials like graphite is essential to supporting the transition to EVs at scale,” said Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy Ventures. “Molten has developed a process that not only enables the domestic production of graphite, but also at a lower cost, and while creating a highly valuable hydrogen co-product.”
