Sojitz Corporation (“Sojitz”) has invested in Hycamite TCD Technologies Oy (“Hycamite”), a developer of turquoise hydrogen production technology.

Hycamite is a Finnish startup company founded in 2020 and a developer of a technology that produces hydrogen (H₂) and solid carbon (C) through thermo-catalytic decomposition of methane (CH₄), which is the main constituent of natural gas and biogas. Hydrogen produced through this method of methane pyrolysis is known as “turquoise hydrogen”* and is garnering attention as the next-generation hydrogen production method due to the fact that carbon dioxide (CO₂) is not released in the process. Hycamite has developed revolutionary proprietary catalytic technology that requires less energy (only 13% of the energy that is used to produce hydrogen through electrolysis) and produces carbon nanotubes and other solid carbon products with the high added value of different crystalline structures.

[Hycamite’s production process] 

While clean hydrogen curtails CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere, general widespread introduction of clean hydrogen production presents technological challenges such as carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) for CO₂ emissions from the production process, as well as cost-related issues that include securing low-cost renewable energy and building the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen transport and storage. Hycamite’s zero-carbon emissions production technology therefore provides a promising solution which has the benefit of low energy consumption during reactions and offers a local production and local consumption system for supplying hydrogen.

In addition, the carbon products produced using Hycamite’s technology have multiple applications including use in next-generation lithium-ion batteries and other composite materials utilized as high-performance materials. By curbing CO₂ emissions in production, Hycamite is capable of responding to new needs that anticipate decarbonization.

Hycamite has raised EUR 25 million in funding through a third-party allotment of shares underwritten by Sojitz, the Finnish Climate Fund, and other investors.

Hycamite plans to use the funds raised to build a demonstration plant capable of annually producing the equivalent of 2,000 tons of hydrogen (approximately 2,880 Nm³/h). Pilot technical demonstrations have already been completed, and the new demonstration plant is expected to begin operations in mid-2024 within Kokkola Industrial Park in central Finland.

[Image of completed demonstration plant currently under construction]

Through this investment, Sojitz has acquired an exclusive license for Hycamite technology in Japan. Moving forward, Sojitz will work with Hycamite to advance commercial-scale projects in Japan and around the world with the aim of building the business by the latter half of the 2020s. The planned commercial plant will have a production scale of more than 10,000 tons of hydrogen annually and will contribute to decarbonization efforts across multiple industries worldwide.

[Related Information]

Company Overview – Hycamite TCD Technologies Oy

Head Office	Kemirantie 15, 67900 Kokkola, Finland
Representative Director	Laura Rahikka, CEO
Website	https://hycamite.com/

[For questions, contact:]
Sojitz Corporation Public Relations Dept.　+81－3－6871－3404