Molten Industries raised $25M as Series A funding for its Oakland, CA-based company, which converts natural gas to clean graphite or hydrogen.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the round, with participation from Sozo Ventures and Mark Heising. Steelhead Capital also participated. Existing investors such as Union Square Ventures (USV), 50 Years, J4 Ventures (J4 Capital), Moai Capital (Moai Capital), UVC Partners, Jane Woodward and Peter Attia also participated in this round.
The company plans to use the money to build its first commercial modular reactor in Oakland, and to become a producer for graphite used in lithium-ion battery production and clean hydrogen that will decarbonize chemical and steel industries.
Molten Industries, founded in 2021 by Dr. Caleb Boyd, a Breakthrough Energy Fellow, and Dr. Kevin Bush (a member of the Breakthrough Energy Fellows Program), develops methane-pyrolysis technology for decarbonizing the world’s heavy industry. The process converts methane into hydrogen and graphite at high temperatures using renewable electricity. It produces no carbon dioxide and instead produces hydrogen gas and graphite which can be used to make batteries. Methane is responsibly sourced from low-emissions sources, such as waste streams and dairy farms. This results in hydrogen and carbon which are carbon-neutral.
Molten is looking to locate its first commercial plant, which will produce 5,000 tonnes per year of hydrogen and 15,000 tons of graphite, in a chemical or a steel plant. The plant will consist of 20 modular commercial reactors.
FinSMEs
20/06/2024