Monolith at risk of losing DOE loan

Semafor is reporting that the US Department of Energy plans to cancel seven major loans and loan guarantees that were conditionally approved under the Biden administration, including the funding for Monolith's expansion of its methane pyrolysis plant in Nebraska. The online news magazine cites a "former DOE official close to the process" as the source for the information. Notch does not have independent verification for the news. It would appear that the potential cancellation of these loans reflects a shift away from prioritizing clean energy projects under the Trump administration, particularly those initiated under the Biden administration.

Monolith is in the process of expanding an existing production site in Hallam, Nebraska to produce clean hydrogen and approximately 180 KTPY of carbon black. The hydrogen can be used to produce ammonia for fertilizers. In December 2021, Monolith Nebraska LLC received a $953 million loan guarantee from the US DOE under the Title 17 loan program. In addition to the DOE loan, Monolith has attracted substantial outside investment, including a new round of financing that was completed in September 2024. Existing investors include TPG Rise Climate, Decarbonization Partners (a joint venture between BlackRock and Singapore-based Temasek), Warburg Pincus, Cornell Capital, and Azimuth Capital Management. NextEra Energy and South Korea's SK are also investors.

Back in September, the Wall Street Journal reported that Monolith was experiencing challenges as it sought to scale up operations. Monolith's carbon black got a major boost in May 2023 when Goodyear announced it would use the material in a new ultrahigh performance tire for electric vehicles. Goodyear presented a paper on its collaboration with Monolith at the last Carbon Black World conference held in May in Fort Worth, Texas.