Monolith-Olive Creek Data Center, Hallam, Nebraska

Monolith, a carbon black producer, wants to expand its Olive Creek facility in Hallam with a data center. The 35-megawatt co-located data center would be built with the Denver AI company Crusoe, alongside four more carbon black units. The data center would be up to 36 modular units the size of shipping containers on about ten acres at the northeast corner of the site, using an estimated 770,000 gallons of water a year, with either air cooling or a closed loop.

The carbon black expansion would use more: about 62 gallons a minute in its first phase and 250 in its second, which at 80 percent is around 105 million gallons a year, and the second phase would spread east across Southwest 42nd Street. Chief development officer Anna Wishart said the plan is “significantly lower profile” than the ammonia facility Monolith had planned, and put the jobs at about 15 for the data center and 150 for the carbon black expansion.

The chief executive Russell Webb said of choosing Crusoe: "we wanted to try to pick a partner that does those type of things," meaning efficiency and the right scale. Residents lined up out of the Hallam auditorium for a town hall in July 2026. Kathy Stevens, a lifelong resident whose land backs up to the plant, and landowner Cami Slauson, who said transparency had been missing, spoke for many of the worried neighbors. The planning commission delayed its vote on August 19 after a public hearing that drew concerns about water, sound and the future of Hallam land, then unanimously recommended the special use permit in September. Crusoe's Steve Buster said the conditions of approval, including a community benefit fund controlled by three Hallam residents, “are our contract with the village of how we will operate this project.” Commissioner Cynthia Heier voted yes but said: “I mean, this portion of Nebraska is under attack from big companies who just think we're just throwaway people.”

The Hallam Village Board is set to decide whether to give Monolith the final green light at its October 5, 2026 meeting.