A delegation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, along with other distinguished guests, visited Hycamite Friday for a tour of its Customer Sample Facility (Decarbonization Plant). The group explored the company’s technology and capabilities, including its battery‑grade graphite production capabilities.
CEO Laura Rahikka and Chairman of the Board Matti Malkamäki hosted the visitors.
Following the tour, Malkamäki provided an in-depth briefing on Hycamite’s methane-splitting technology, its role in electrification, and our capacity to convert carbon into battery-grade graphite. Hycamite’s industrial-scale demonstration plant capacity produces 2 kt hydrogen annually in addition to high-value, solid carbon products.
He also outlined the CSF’s growth plans and highlighted Hycamite’s designation as a strategic project by the European Commission under the Critical Raw Minerals Act (CRMA). Only 47 companies received the designation.
This recognition supports the EU’s goals of strengthening supply-chain resilience and reducing dependency on third-country imports. Hycamite’s innovative methane-splitting process produces high-quality graphite, a critical raw material for batteries and clean-energy technologies, without relying on conventional mining. The project also enhances the security of critical carbon product supply and offers advantages such as better access to EU funding and a faster permitting process.
“We are the world’s leading pioneer in methane splitting and our CSF is the largest of its kind in Europe. Notably, Kokkola is Europe’s capital of critical minerals,” Malkamäki said. “The delegation’s visit underscores the growing interest in Hycamite, and we were pleased to share the latest updates on our technology and our plans to supply battery-grade graphite to Finland and the wider European market.”
Malkamäki noted the unique position of the company: it is committed to the low-carbon transition, while also producing battery-grade graphite for multiple applications including the defense and maritime industries. Hycamite’s investors include a slate of both Finnish funding and five international financiers from Japan, Austria and France. He encouraged the ministry’s representatives to emphasize the continued need for public funding to support ongoing R&D efforts.
Hycamite’s CSF converts liquified natural gas (LNG) into low-carbon hydrogen and solid, high-value carbon without carbon dioxide emissions. Beyond Kokkola, countries such as Germany and the United States have robust natural gas infrastructure well suited to this model for industrial use, Malkamäki said. Hycamite can work directly with customers to integrate a plant into their existing natural gas systems, eliminating the need for long-distance hydrogen pipelines.
The process uses waste heat from the customer’s site, removes the carbon without measurable CO₂ emissions and produces solid carbon that can be further refined into valuable products. Once the customer transitions to using hydrogen, their operations will not generate CO₂ emissions from fuel use.
This technology has been proven at Hycamite’s pilot plant in Kokkola, where it has operated on biogas for four years. It is now being deployed at Hycamite’s CSF, a full-scale production facility that will also enter a pre-production phase for graphite by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Hycamite is poised to start building plants in other locations.
Hycamite TCD Technologies is a pioneering cleantech company based in Kokkola that produces low-carbon hydrogen and high-value solid carbon products through its thermocatalytic methane-splitting technology. The company is building and operating Europe’s largest industrial-scale methane-splitting plant in Kokkola, Finland, enabling the production of low-carbon hydrogen and battery-grade graphite without conventional mining.
The full list of distinguished guests invited included:
- Pääkonsuli Minna Laajava – Los Angeles
- Pääkonsuli Stefan Lindström – Houston
- Pääkonsuli Jarmo Sareva – New York
- Aluejohtaja Juhani Sirén – New York
- Katariina Salo – Ulkoministeriö
- Mika Palosaari – Ylijohtaja, Pohjanmaan Elinvoimakeskus
- Terhi Mäkinen – Elinvoimapäällikkö, Pohjanmaan Elinvoimakeskus
- Hanna Auronen – Yksikönpäällikkö, Pohjanmaan Elinvoimakeskus
- Tom Saksa – TEAM-Finland koordinaattori, Pohjanmaan Elinvoimakeskus
- Tomas Ede – Yritysasiantuntija, Pohjanmaan Elinvoimakeskus
- Kåre Björkstrand – Toimitusjohtaja, Viexpo
- Minna Jakobsson – Export Advisor, Viexpo
- Tom Siegfrieds – Finance Manager, Finnvera
- Ulf-Erik Widd – Account Lead, Business Finland
- Kaisa Kaapo – Executive Director, KIP
