Now that Hycamite and numerous other major Kokkola-based companies have agreements to receive methane from Kokkolan Energiaverkostot, the Kokkola LNG terminal project is progressing from the design phase to the construction phase.
Prior to this deal, Hycamite has used biogas to produce hydrogen and industrial carbon from methane in Kokkola. Now that Kokkolan Energiaverkostot will supply liquid natural gas to Hycamite’s industrial-scale facility, Hycamite will now use liquid natural gas and biogas. Both biogas and natural gas consist mainly of methane, which is chemically identical in both gases.
“The aim is to ensure that the production in our new large Customer Sample Facility, which will be completed next year, can be kept running even if biogas is not available in sufficient quantities or if our customers want to run tests specifically on natural gas”, says Laura Rahikka, CEO of Hycamite TCD Technologies.
Hycamite decarbonises industry. It does so by producing emissions-free hydrogen and industrial solid carbon from methane using heat and a family of catalysts it developed. Hycamite’s hydrogen can be used as a substitute for the coal currently used in steel production. Similarly, emissions-free and locally produced carbon products can be used to replace, for example, synthetic graphite, whose production currently entails high emissions, and to reduce dependence on natural graphite, which has been identified as a critical raw material.
When Hycamite uses biogas to produce hydrogen, it creates a carbon sink. When fed biogas, the Hycamite process decomposes the methane in the gas and captures the carbon in a solid form rather than release it into the atmosphere. The resulting solid carbon can be used, for example, to make batteries for electric cars. Hycamite’s technology can also be used to remove carbon from methane that is a by-product of chemical industry processes.
In Finland, Hycamite aims to produce its hydrogen primarily from biogas. Hycamite’s customers, particularly in North America, intend to use natural gas for hydrogen production, as the availability of biogas in North America is minimal. Hydrogen produced from natural gas using Hycamite’s technology also has a very low life-cycle emission.
Hycamite’s headquarters, the current large test facility and the future Customer Sample Facility are located in Kokkola Industrial Park (KIP).
