Energy Transition Leadership Seminar: Monolith Co-founder and Senior Advisor, Robert Hanson

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 session 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.