TDK Corporation through its subsidiary TDK Ventures, Inc. has co-led the US$27 million seed round of Tulum Energy. Accordingly, the startup produces clean hydrogen solutions for industrial applications through methane pyrolysis and by repurposing the designs of already mature industrial equipment.

TDK Ventures’ investment will be used to accelerate the development of Tulum’s innovative clean hydrogen production technology, which leverages commercially available electric-arc plasma reactor technology to achieve cost parity with traditional hydrogen production methods, while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. With support from TDK Ventures and additional co-investment partners, Tulum expects to reach commercial operations directly following the first pilot and achieve hydrogen production costs matching or beating fossil fuel-based alternatives without relying on incentives or the sale of the potentially valuable carbon co-product.

Game Changer in Green Hydrogen Production

Tulum, based in Milan, Italy, has been spun out of Techint Group, a global leader in steel, engineering, and energy. Tulum aims to commercialize a unique and scalable approach to hydrogen production, utilizing proven electric arc furnace (EAF) technology in a novel configuration for producing hydrogen. This is common in steel production at capacities of over 100 megawatts. With deep technical backing from Tenova, Techint’s subsidiary that produces EAFs, Tulum is positioned to deliver hydrogen at levelized costs comparable to conventional grey hydrogen, while achieving up to 95% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions.

“Tulum’s innovative reactor could be a game-changer in geographies where green hydrogen is cost-prohibitive or logistically infeasible,” said Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures. “Their technology offers superior energy efficiency, smaller land footprint, and compelling economics that meet the immediate needs of heavy industry. By harnessing the potential of turquoise hydrogen, Tulum is well positioned to decarbonize heavy industry and create a more sustainable future for generations to come.”

Tulum’s unique approach to hydrogen generation is designed to overcome the high costs and infrastructure challenges currently faced by alternative clean hydrogen solutions such as green-hydrogen.

Key advantages of its technology include:

• High efficiency: A projected energy requirement approximately five times more efficient than the best green hydrogen methods
• Scalability: By repurposing EAF technology that is already widely used at way above 100 MW capacity (i.e. the anticipated power capacity of a full size Tulum commercial plant reactor), Tulum can meet the massive scale of today’s existing users of hydrogen such as steel producers, chemical plants, and refineries (in the range of 20 to 200 tons/day and above)
• Cost competitiveness: Anticipated levelized production costs on par with grey hydrogen and significantly more competitive than other sustainable hydrogen production pathways, even without subsidies or the sale of the valuable carbon co-product
• Non-catalytic technology: The electric arc is a high-temperature heat source that allows the methane pyrolysis reaction to occur without the technical and operational hurdles that catalytic solutions entail
• Reduced footprint: Tulum’s plants require eight times less land than green hydrogen facilities, enabling on-site production and reducing transportation costs

Tulum is led by CEO and Co-founder Massimiliano Pieri, formerly CEO of M2X Energy and an executive at Eni Next, along with CTO Donald Kendrick, previously CTO at methane-pyrolysis company Ekona. Together, they possess valuable expertise in developing and scaling energy technologies.

“We are thrilled to partner with TDK Ventures, whose global reach and technical expertise will be invaluable as we move to pilot and commercial scale,” said Pieri. “Their investment and belief in us are an equal win for both of our companies. Along with their financial investment comes its famous ‘TDK Goodness,’ which provides access to various strategic synergies across TDK’s power electronics and materials businesses. Similarly, Tulum has the very real potential of expanding TDK’s impact in decarbonization, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors.”

The proceeds from this oversubscribed Seed round will be strategically deployed to construct Tulum Energy’s inaugural pilot plant in Pesquería, Mexico, located within the industrial complex of Ternium, Latin America’s leading steel company and a part of the Techint Group.

09 July 2025