2025 was, for the energy sector, a year of moving from hype to execution: the accelerated deployment of data centers pushed U.S. electricity demand up 2.9%, after 15 years of no growth, and the report projects that data centers could take 9% of total demand by 2030, almost three times what they represent today.

The TechEnergy Ventures (TEV) report also draws an increasingly sharp distinction within decarbonization technologies: on one hand, the techno-economically driven vectors, solar, batteries, EVs, fuel cells, heat pumps, which can serve up to 70% of today's O&G demand; on the other, those that will only thrive if CO₂ becomes a costly liability (such as CCUS or hydrogen as fuel), which continue on a path of isolated traction.

Against that backdrop, TEV's year unfolded in two distinct phases. In the first half, the team ran a deliberate exploration of adjacencies, scouting over 1,700 companies and reviewing more than 300, to pressure-test whether the fund's thesis warranted expansion. It did not: more than 80% of the opportunities reside within the already defined theses. The second half was defined by focus and execution.

That concentration is reflected in the numbers: after four years of operation, 62% of TEV's deployed capital is allocated to three strategic verticals for Tecpetrol, geothermal, energy storage, and critical minerals. In 2025, the fund completed two new investments, four reinvestments, and one pre-committed tranche, for a total of ~$15.5 million, with new positions in Rodatherm (geothermal development in sedimentary basins) and Endolith (copper bioleaching). The report also highlights the Tulum spin-out, focused on methane pyrolysis for hydrogen and solid carbon production, which raised almost $30 million from global institutional and climate investors to build its pilot plant in Pesqueria, expected to be operational by H2 2027.

One of the year's most notable shifts was the decision to participate more actively in companies that deploy technology, not just develop it, to obtain hard data from the field and inform Tecpetrol's and the Group's strategy in new segments. That same prioritization logic led TEV to step back from follow-on rounds in portfolio companies operating in segments with undermined conviction, such as CO₂-to-fuels and low-grade thermal storage.

In parallel, the first synergies with the Group are beginning to materialize: Rodatherm placed its first purchase order for $2.3 million in pipes from Tenaris, and Tulum secured an agreement with Ternium to build its pilot plant in Pesqueria, Mexico, with potential use of Tulum's hydrogen in the direct reducing iron process at Ternium's new steel plant. In total, six portfolio companies are currently working directly with Techint Group companies.

With Tulum's result, TEV also demonstrated that it can put together credible, venture-capital-investable opportunities from scratch. While venture building is not an objective per se, it is a path the fund will continue to explore.

Entering year five, the report underscores a clear goal: ensuring that the strategic value proposition to Tecpetrol and the Group becomes increasingly concrete as several portfolio companies, including Lava, Peak Energy, and ETS, transition from development to commercial deployment.

The fund has already completed the heavy lifting of building its initial portfolio exposure ($46 million deployed in first checks out of $61 million allocated to initial investments) and retains more than $50 million available for portfolio follow-ons, allowing it to concentrate capital in the companies with the strongest traction. Today, TEV holds a portfolio of 19 companies, and reported Assets Under Management of $74.6 million.

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