Low-emissions hydrogen and low-cost performance cement via methane pyrolysis

Hydrogen is a foundational molecule that underpins modern society, from fertilizer production to fuel refining, yet conventional hydrogen production through steam reforming emits nearly 2% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Methane pyrolysis offers a lower-carbon alternative that can leverage much of the existing natural gas and hydrogen production infrastructure, enabling faster scale-up than many emerging hydrogen technologies. However, its economic viability depends on valorization of the solid carbon co-product, and existing non-metallurgical carbon markets are too small to support global deployment.

This project addresses that bottleneck by designing methane pyrolysis around cement, a much larger material market capable of absorbing carbon at scale. The team is developing a catalytic process that produces carbon specifically engineered for direct incorporation into cement, with production costs below the price of cement itself. This enables carbon addition without increasing the final cement price while significantly improving mechanical strength, thus creating a pathway for economically viable low-carbon hydrogen production and stronger, lower-emission cement.