Tulum Energy, a Milan‑based cleantech spin‑out from Techint Group, has closed a US$27 million seed round to develop a pilot electric arc furnace (EAF) methane pyrolysis plant in Pesquería, Mexico, adjacent to Ternium’s steel complex. The project aims to produce turquoise hydrogen and solid carbon co‑products at scale using no catalysts and minimal CO₂ emissions.

Italian turquoise hydrogen start-up Tulum Energy has raised $27m in a seed round to construct the first pilot plant for its methane pyrolysis technology based on electric arc furnaces (EAF).

The company spun out from steel, engineering, and energy major Techint Group with technology based on electric-arc plasma reactor systems, which it believes could produce hydrogen at cost parity with current grey hydrogen.

Methane pyrolysis splits natural gas feedstocks in the absence of oxygen into hydrogen and carbon, which is generated in a solid form such as graphene, graphite, carbon black, and more.

However, Tulum says its technology, based on large-scale EAF systems used in steel production, can achieve costs “comparable” to grey hydrogen with a 95% reduction in emissions.

It also claims its methane pyrolysis plants require eight times less land than electrolysis facilities.

The raise will be used to construct Tulum’s first pilot plant in Pesquería, Mexico, at a Techint subsidiary’s steel complex.

The project’s capacity and commissioning timeline have not been revealed.

Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures, which led the raise, said the technology could prove successful in geographies where green hydrogen is too expensive or logistically infeasible.

“[Tulum’s] technology offers superior energy efficiency, smaller land footprint, and compelling economics that meet the immediate needs of heavy industry,” he added.