Hycamite TCD Technologies has received an investment from Sojitz Group, a Japanese conglomerate with approximately 400 subsidiaries and affiliates in Japan and worldwide and Stephen Industries, a family-owned Finnish company. The Finnish Climate Fund and existing and first external investors HAI Kapital, Holdix and Turret have also decided to invest in Hycamite. New and existing investors are investing €25 MM toward Hycamite’s innovative technology for decarbonizing industry.

“The investment makes it possible to scale our technology to launch the production on the commercial scale. We will serve our clients in North America, Japan and Europe,” said Ms. Laura Rahikka, CEO and Founder of Hycamite.

Hycamite decarbonizes industry through its low-carbon H₂ and provision of sustainable carbon products for demanding industrial applications. Hycamite technology decomposes large volumes of methane into its component elements: H₂ and carbon. The TCD technology developed by Hycamite does not release greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Furthermore, its catalysts are sustainable. The company’s technology requires only 13% of the energy needed to produce H₂ by electrolysis.

Using methane as feedstock allows H₂ production to be scaled rapidly. H₂ can be produced from methane from natural gas, biomethane or synthetic methane. With Hycamite’s technology, the petrochemical industry’s side streams can also be used as raw material. If biomethane or eMethane made with ambient CO₂ were used as feedstock, the resulting H₂ would be carbon negative.

“Sojitz strives to realize a decarbonized society through its business activities, and this capital tie-up with Hycamite is strategically important to our company. Hycamite’s revolutionary zero-emission H₂ technology can contribute to the decarbonization of diverse industries and thus represents a promising choice for the future. We aim to provide new value to the industrial sector through businesses that utilize this technology. Sojitz will leverage its expertise and global networks as it partners with Hycamite to expand society’s use of zero-emission H₂ and conduct marketing for carbon products,” said Taro Okamura, COO of Sojitz Chemicals Division.

“We are pleased to support Finnish top technology that helps the world to fight climate change,” said COB of Stephen Industries Kustaa Poutiainen.

Paula Laine, CEO of the Finnish Climate Fund said, “Hycamite’s solution diversifies the H₂ project offering and replaces gray H₂ in industrial applications. I see an exciting role in the H₂ economy for it. The carbon from the feed gas used in the process is recovered in solid form and can be used for various applications.”

Hycamite’s technology is a cutting-edge carbon capture, utilization and storage technology. H₂ can be used as either industrial raw material or fuel, and Hycamite’s carbon nanoproducts lend themselves to versatile applications, including Li-ion batteries, concrete, composite materials and filter purifiers.

Hycamite is a privately-owned company headquartered in Kokkola, Finland. Its methane pyrolysis technology is based on long-standing research in applied chemistry from the University of Oulu, Finland.