Tulum Energy rediscovered a forgotten hydrogen tech and used it to raise $27M

Tulum Energy emerged from a forgotten discovery made between 2002 and 2005 by engineers at the Techint Group, who accidentally created a pyrolysis reaction in an electric arc furnace that split methane into pure hydrogen and solid carbon without producing carbon dioxide. This reaction, which was initially overlooked due to limited interest in methane pyrolysis and hydrogen at the time, was rediscovered by Techint’s corporate venture arm, TechEnergy Ventures, as they sought cleaner hydrogen production methods. Leveraging this accidental innovation, Techint spun out Tulum Energy, which recently secured an oversubscribed $27 million seed funding round led by TDK Ventures and CDP Venture Capital to develop the technology commercially. Tulum Energy’s approach to methane pyrolysis stands out because it does not require expensive catalysts, unlike some competitors, and uses a modified version of widely available electric arc furnace technology. The company plans to build a pilot plant in Mexico adjacent to a Techint steel plant, with the potential for the plant to directly