The Plasma Extract Refining tech also unlocks the Oil Refinery, which breaks down 2 Crude Oil into 2 Refined Oil and 1 Hydrogen. Which isn't a great ratio, because we're going to need a lot of Hydrogen if we want to automate production of those pesky red Matrix cubes.
For anyone confused about how to get some good Hydrogen production started, the answer is: X-Ray Cracking.
Unlock X-Ray Cracking for Hydrogen
X-Ray Cracking is a marvellous technology, and you should make it the very first thing you unlock with red Matrix cubes.
X-Ray Cracking is a technology which unlocks a new recipe in the Oil Refinery. Instead of 2 Crude Oil becoming 2 Refined Oil and 1 Hydrogen, the new X-Ray Cracking recipe converts 2 Hydrogen and 1 Refined Oil into 3 Hydrogen and 1 Energetic Graphite.