SPARK: Small-scale PEM-electrolysis And Refuelling Kit

The problem Small hydrogen-powered vehicles and devices — forklifts, bikes, drones — typically operate in small fleets or as individual units, far from any central hydrogen infrastructure. Bottled or trucked-in hydrogen is expensive and logistically inefficient at this scale, while most existing onsite refuelling concepts are designed for larger, vehicle-fleet volumes and rely on mechanical compressors with moving parts, noise and maintenance overhead.

Our solution SPARK couples onsite PEM electrolysis directly with a non-mechanical, metal-hydride (thermochemical) compressor, producing and compressing small quantities of hydrogen in one integrated, low-maintenance step — without external hydrogen delivery and without mechanical compression parts. The system is purpose-sized for small-scale, decentralised refuelling: from hydrogen forklifts in a warehouse, to logistic bike fleets, to drones requiring a compact, on-demand hydrogen source.

Consortium (already formed, actively cooperating)

• OHS – ostermeier H2ydrogen Solutions GmbH (Germany) – Project Leader / System Integrator: hydrogen-production platform, control & electrical systems, overall system integration

• Eifhytec SAS (France) – thermochemical, metal-hydride hydrogen compressor and refuelling connection / dispenser interface

• Leancat Electrolyzers s.r.o. (Czech Republic) – PEM electrolysis modules, water treatment, drying unit

A genuine interregional cooperation across France, the Czech Republic and Germany, combining three complementary, already-proven technologies into one new, small-scale application.

Technology readiness All three core technologies are individually field-validated at TRL 6 or above. The project's goal is to reach TRL 9 through integration, commissioning and field validation of the combined system with a real small-vehicle pilot use case over a 12-month programme (2027).

What we are looking for We are open to further cooperation opportunities, in particular:

• A pilot site partner operating (or interested in trialling) hydrogen forklifts, bikes or drones, for real-world field validation of the demonstrator

• Stakeholders with similar small-scale, decentralised hydrogen refuelling use cases, for potential replication across other European regions

• Partners interested in higher-pressure compression variants for future scale-up beyond this project

Contact Dr. Markus Ostermeier, OHS (Project Leader) – mo@ohs.energy