Energy Transition Leadership Seminar - Rob Hanson, Co-founder and Senior Advisor, Monolith
About the Seminar
Stanford Energy welcomes Robert “Rob” Hanson, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, and former Chief Executive Officer of Monolith, for a discussion on leadership, technology, and execution in the energy transition. Drawing on experience across solar, nuclear, and industrial decarbonization, Hanson will explore what it really takes to scale and commercialize new energy technologies beyond paper studies, pilot projects, and marketing hype.
This seminar will focus on the real world challenges of turning promising energy ideas into operating assets and durable businesses. Hanson will discuss the hard work behind techno economic analysis, company formation, technology scale up, project execution, financing, permitting, supply chains, customer adoption, reliability, safety, and cost discipline. He will share lessons from his work in solar and nuclear energy, as well as his leadership at Monolith, where the company is advancing hydrocarbon pyrolysis to produce clean hydrogen and critical carbon products. The conversation will examine how energy transition companies can move from ambition to deployment while meeting the practical demands of industrial markets.
About the Speaker
Rob Hanson
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Monolith
For over a decade, Rob Hanson has led Monolith as its co-founder and chief executive officer, driving toward the vision of “Building the world’s largest clean hydrogen and materials company.” Monolith has developed the world’s first commercial scale methane pyrolysis technology which uses 100% clean electricity to convert natural gas into low-emission hydrogen and carbon black, an essential raw material used in manufacturing everyday rubber and plastic products. Hanson earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and is a sought-after speaker through the U.S. Department of State and many of the world’s most respected energy conferences. Prior to his time at Monolith, Hanson was the global director of product management at AREVA Solar, the solar division of the world’s largest nuclear company.