Pyrolysis of methane by thermal plasma: a 30+ year journey and start of an industrial adventure

Laurent Fulcheri
PSL Research University, MINES Paris, PERSEE, France

Abstract
In this conference, we’ll report a 30+ year research journey on thermal plasma pyrolysis of methane which has led to the emergence of a new, environmentally-friendly, and disruptive process to produce decarbonized hydrogen and carbon black. After a brief introduction stating the benefits of plasma methane pyrolysis in the energy transition context and history, a discussion on the state of the art, scientific challenges and main achievements will be given.

Laurent Fulcheri was graduated from École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers (ENSAM-ParisTech) in 1983, he got a DEA (2nd master degree) at INP-Grenoble (Physics&Energy) in 1984, a PhDand Habilitation degree in 1989 and 2003 respectively. He joined École des Mines de Paris (PSL-University) at the end of his PhD in 1989 as Assistant Professor. He created in 1995 a new research group on Plasma Processing. He was appointed Senior Researcher in 2007, then Research Director (Full Professor) in 2013.
He was appointed Honorary Professor at the School of Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus in Durban (South Africa) in 2016.
Laurent Fulcheri published 100+ articles in international peer review scientific journals. He supervised 20 PhD students, filed 12 patents, 7 of which have been internationally extended.
His research activities focus on the development of thermal and non-thermal plasma processes in the context of Energy Transition.
Laurent Fulcheri has been working for more than 30 years on the Plasma Pyrolysis of Methane for the co-production of decarbonized hydrogen and nanostructured solid carbon (he obtained in 2003, his habilitation degree on this field). He contributed in 2012 to the creation of the start-up MONOLITH Materials in the USA. Since then, he has been accompanying the development of MONOLITH with continuous R&D efforts. He was awarded the “Laurent Fulcheri prize” for transformative innovation by MONOLITH Materials’ CEO, Rob Hanson in 2021 and the “Carnot prize” in 2023

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