H Quest brings to market high-performance carbon materials made from natural gas. With zero CO2 emissions and a clean hydrogen co-product, they have an unmatched sustainability and cost profile.
OUR FOCUS: CARBON BLACK
Carbon black is the second-largest-volume reinforcing material in manufacturing. It is in every tire on the road, in every lithium-ion battery, in inks, paints, coatings, hoses, belts, and cables.
And nearly all of it is made the same way it was made in 1943: partially combust a heavy oil feedstock to crack the rest.
This conventional process turns roughly a third of the feedstock into product and the rest into flue gas. It is the reason a tonne of furnace black carries almost 4 tonnes of CO2 an average, along with many other pollutants.
It's also the reason why every manufacturer in more than 40 industry verticals seeks a sustainable carbon black without a drop in performance or a cost premium.
H Quest's modular systems can be deployed rapidly and cost-effecitvely to scale up production and meet demand. Under validation with industry leaders in three key application areas, H Quest's carbons are now ready for production at scale.
Conductive Grades
While conductive additive constitute only a small fraction of a lithium-ion electrode (1%-10% loading), they have an outsized impact on performance.
Conductive carbon blacks form the percolating network that carries electrons to and from active material. The quality of that network is what makes the difference between a 100 mile and 500 mile EV and the difference between a 2 hour and a 15 minute charge.
Another key specification is purity: ppm level of metals, sulfur, and other impurities.
Purification of conventional heavy oil feedstocks or is very costly and energy-intensive. With the inrinsically natural gas feedstock, H Quest's carbons get their purity for free.
US battery plants building to domestic-content rules need qualified North American sources. H Quest can support rapid deployment anywhere in the US, at a fraction of the cost of a conventional plant.
Tread Grades
Reinforcing black is the anchor tenant of the industry, accounting for some 70%-80% of the world's carbon black production. Reinforcement blacks set a tire's abrasion resistance, rolling resistance, and tear strength.
The world's tire makers have committed to fully sustainable materials, but cannot get there on recovered carbon black alone: recycled carbon blacks simply don't have the purity, consistency, and structure to meet the demanding specifications of tread-reinforcing grades.
H Quest's reinforcement blacks made from domestic natural gas resources are distinguished by the small particle size, high structure, and, very importantly, a near-zero carbon footprint.
In the ongoing testing and validation program with the leading US tire manufacturer, they clear the sustainability bar without performance or cost penalties.
Activated Carbon
Adsorbent carbon is a different type of product from the same platform. With superior pore structure and accessible surface area, H Quest's activated carbons have shown better performance for PFAS mitigation than commercial special-purpose products.
EPA estimates that 8% of public water systems will need to act under the drinking-water rule.
Conventional supply runs on imported coconut shell and bituminous coal; the US already imports more activated carbon than any other country, while China leads global exports.
With 100% active material and 0% inert mineral impurities, H Quest's activated carbon is a credible domestic answer.