- Tulum Energy raised $27M to commercialise a rediscovered methane pyrolysis process for hydrogen and carbon.
- The tech uses a modified electric arc furnace and avoids costly catalysts, offering cost and scalability advantages.
- Tulum aims to produce hydrogen at $1.50/kg, targeting large-scale, low-emission industrial applications.
Tulum Energy, a Mexican startup, has secured $27 million in seed funding to commercialise a forgotten hydrogen production technology first discovered by engineers at Techint Group over two decades ago.
The process, unearthed during routine electric arc furnace testing between 2002 and 2005, splits methane into pure hydrogen and solid carbon via pyrolysis—a reaction that occurs in the absence of oxygen.
Back then, the accidental discovery was largely ignored, as interest in methane pyrolysis and hydrogen was minimal.
But with the recent surge in demand for clean hydrogen, Techint’s venture arm revisited the old findings and spun out Tulum Energy to bring the technology to market.
Unlike competitors such as Modern Hydrogen and Monolith, Tulum’s process doesn’t require expensive catalysts and leverages a modified, widely used electric arc furnace.
This gives Tulum a significant cost and scalability advantage, according to CEO Massimiliano Pieri.
The company’s seed round was led by TDK Ventures and CDP Venture Capital, with participation from Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, MITO Tech Ventures, and TechEnergy Ventures.
Tulum will use the funds to build a pilot plant in Mexico, adjacent to a Techint steel facility.
At commercial scale, the company expects to produce two tons of hydrogen and 600 tons of carbon daily, with hydrogen costs projected at $1.50 per kilogram, undercutting many green hydrogen competitors.
If successful, Tulum’s approach could offer a scalable, low-emission alternative for hydrogen and carbon production, turning a once-overlooked mistake into a major clean tech breakthrough.
Edited by Annette George
