About Hycamite
We split methane to deliver clean power, onshore critical materials, and accelerate decarbonization – at scale.
What we do
Hycamite has developed a process that splits methane into low-carbon hydrogen and solid carbon using heat and proprietary, recyclable catalysts. The scientific groundwork comes from more than 20 years of research at the University of Oulu, Finland. The process, the catalysts and the plant technology have been developed by Hycamite.
The process needs about one eighth of the electricity that water electrolysis needs per kilogram of hydrogen. No carbon dioxide is formed in the reaction, because the carbon is captured in solid form.
Hycamite was founded in 2020 and is privately owned, with its headquarters in Kokkola, Finland. Its shareholders include international industrial investors and financial investors, and the Company has raised approximately EUR 62 million since it was founded.
Hycamite’s methane decomposition plant (HDP) in Kokkola Industrial Park has a nominal capacity of 2,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen and 6,000 tonnes of carbon products per year. The plant operates in campaigns for research, development and validation. Hycamite’s graphite production is recognised by the European Commission as a Strategic Project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.
Our management
Matti Malkamäki
Founder, CEO
Laura Rahikka
Founder, COO
Marko Huiskonen
Chief Legal Officer (CLO)
Samuli Räsänen
Chief Research Officer (CRO)
Jyri Jokinen
Head of Production
Petra Maunula
Chief People & Administration Officer
Tuomas Keskitalo
Head of Technology Development
Juho Heikkinen
Finance Manager
Niina Grönqvist
Founder, Head of Carbon business
Board
Jukka Nieminen
Chair
Jens Söderholm
Board Member
Seppo Siljama
Board Member
Joonas Kettunen
Board Member
Masahiko Endo
Board Member
Advisory Board
Anni Siltanen
Advisory board member
Risto Penttinen
Advisory board member
Harri Sundvik
Advisory board member
Founders story
The story started in Berlin in 2019, when Matti Malkamäki attended the annual meeting of the German Natural Gas Association. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology received an award there for a study on methane pyrolysis, and Matti downloaded the articles to read later.
Months later he returned to them and saw commercial potential. He contacted Laura Rahikka, a lecturer in process engineering, who confirmed that Professor Ulla Lassi’s research group at the University of Oulu had built up the materials and catalyst expertise the idea would require. Laura brought in Niina Grönqvist, who had more than 20 years of experience in the materials industry, process chemistry and the commercialisation of new technologies.
Hycamite was founded in 2020. The name combines hydrogen and carbon, the two products of the process. The founders took the idea for it from a Donald Duck story about a mad chemist.
The scientific groundwork came from more than 20 years of research at the University of Oulu. Everything built on top of it is Hycamite’s own work. The Company developed its own catalysts, its own process and its own plant technology, and protects them through its own patent portfolio. Within five years Hycamite moved from the laboratory to an industrial-scale plant in Kokkola, and the European Commission recognised its graphite production as a Strategic Project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.
This isn’t magic, it’s science.
Pictured: Niina Grönqvist, Head of Carbon Business, Matti Malkamäki, CEO, and Laura Rahikka, COO. All three are founders of the Company.
Downloads
Networks
Eurogas
Eurogas is an association of 67 companies working in gas wholesale, retail and distribution as well as companies manufacturing equipment and providing innovative solutions for services, like blending and methane-emissions management.
European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (ECH2A)
The ECH2A aims at an ambitious deployment of hydrogen technologies by 230, bringing together renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production, industry demands and hydrogen transmission and distribution.
BotH2nia
Hydrogen Europe
Hydrogen Europe is the leading organization representing European based companies and stakeholders that are committed to moving towards a (circular) carbon neutral economy.
NAATBatt Association
Advocate for Advanced Battery Technology in North America NAATBatt International promotes the development and commercialization of electrochemical energy storage technology and the revitalization of advanced battery manufacturing in North America.
ECGA
Since 1995, the European Advanced Carbon and Graphite Materials Association ECGA represents the European Carbon and Graphite industry in Brussels, with 23 Members in Europe and outside of it.
US Hydrogen Alliance (USHA)
The United States Hydrogen Alliance (USHA) is a member-based non-profit trade association. We are dedicated to building the hydrogen economy by advancing the market for hydrogen and fuel cells in the commercial sector within the United States.
Canadian Hydrogen Association (CHA)
Canadian Hydrogen Association’s mission is to champion the Canadian hydrogen sector and accelerate the adoption of our members’ products and services, in Canada and abroad.
Certifications
Our operations are governed by certified management systems specific to each business area, aligning with ISO standards for environmental, health and safety, and quality. Our integrated management systems hold certifications for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 standards.
The effectiveness of these systems is evaluated through internal and external audits conducted by an independent operator.
ISO 9001, Quality management
ISO 14001, Environmental management
ISO 45001, Occupational Health and Safety
