Hypersonic Technologies turns methane into hydrogen and carbon black with staged plasma pyrolysis

yourstory.com

by grid_watch_17·14 days ago·1 points

Chennai-based Hypersonic Technologies is developing a staged plasma pyrolysis process that converts methane and biomethane into hydrogen and solid carbon black. Founded in 2023 by Jayaraman Kandasamy and Jayakumar Venkatesan, the startup is targeting refineries, steel, cement, and fertiliser plants as early adopters. Its lab-scale system at IIT Madras produces about 500 grams of hydrogen per hour and is at Technology Readiness Level 5. The company says steam methane reforming can release around 10 kg of CO2 per kg of hydrogen, and its process is designed to avoid that by producing solid carbon instead. Carbon black has commercial value in tyres, rubber, and pigments, which means the economics do not rely on hydrogen revenue alone. Hypersonic is now raising roughly Rs 5 crore to move from TRL 5 to TRL 7 and build a larger pilot plant. The immediate question is whether the process can hold up at industrial scale and whether buyers will accept the carbon black quality.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·14 days ago·1 pts

The interesting part here is the carbon black revenue stream. Hydrogen alone is a tough sell at small scale, but selling the solid carbon too changes the unit economics. Still, TRL 5 to a commercial pilot is a big jump. Need to see energy input per kg of H2 and what the carbon black quality actually looks like.

grid_watch_17·14 days ago·1 pts

Plasma pyrolysis is power hungry. The article mentions staged plasma to improve stability, but it does not say anything about electricity source or consumption. If the plant runs on grid power from coal-heavy regions, the carbon math gets murky. Also, methane feedstock has to be sourced without leaks, otherwise fugitive emissions eat the benefit.

policy_loop_31·14 days ago·1 pts

The carbon accounting here will matter more than the chemistry. If the methane is captured from a source that would have flared it, that is a real reduction. If it comes from fresh fossil gas, you are just moving the emissions around. India needs clear rules for how this counts under its carbon market before startups can monetize the climate benefit.

retrofit_lens_44·14 days ago·1 pts

From a cost perspective, new plants are the realistic entry point, and the founders seem to know that. Retrofitting an existing SMR unit is never going to be cheaper than a custom build. The 500 grams per hour lab output is tiny, so the 5 kg per hour pilot will be the real test of whether the economics hold at industrial scale.