Bayonne, France · A Forking Future Company

European hydrogen fuel-cell technology and applications

We design and manufacture light, air-cooled PEM fuel-cell stacks and systems, and we integrate them into our customers' products: long-endurance drones, micro- and light mobility, silent field backup power and light work machines — with the whole hydrogen ecosystem around the power source when needed.

500 W – 4.8 kW PEM stacks & systems EU content > 96 % Dual-use ready
What we make

Fuel-cell technology for drones, light mobility and backup power

Our customers are drone manufacturers, micro- and light-mobility OEMs and users of backup power. We supply stacks and systems to equipment manufacturers and do not compete with them with drones or vehicles of our own. Around the power source we can deliver the whole hydrogen ecosystem: local hydrogen production and storage, the fuel-cell power unit, integration and testing, and the approvals and certification work the application needs.

01 · STACKS

PEM fuel-cell stacks

Open-cathode, air-cooled stacks that need only a hydrogen feed and a fan. Start in under a minute, 50–60 % efficiency, low operating temperature.

  • OEM stacks for integrators
  • Aero stacks for UAV platforms
  • Gen 5 in production · Gen 7–8 in development
02 · SYSTEMS

Power systems

Complete fuel-cell power units for applications that need long runtime, fast refuelling and reliability in the field.

  • Power systems from 1 kW upwards — modular design, no upper power limit (single stacks 500 W – 4.8 kW)
  • Drone fuel-cell systems (FCS)
  • Hybridisation with supercapacitors and batteries
03 · INTEGRATION & APPROVALS

Integration, testing and certification

We fit the fuel cell into your device and make it work — and we carry the application through the approvals it needs.

  • Application engineering and test campaigns
  • Equipment safety audits, type approvals and certification support
  • Certified hydrogen-safety competence in-house
04 · HYDROGEN ECOSYSTEM

From hydrogen supply to ready products

Local hydrogen production and storage sized for the application, plus ready-made products where the customer needs a finished unit.

  • On-site hydrogen generation and storage solutions
  • Portable hydrogen generators and mobile backup-power units
  • Hydrogen bicycles for fleets, where applicable
Why fuel cells

When runtime, refuelling and reliability matter more than the battery

A PEM fuel cell converts hydrogen and air directly into electricity, heat and water — no combustion, no moving parts beyond a fan. Against a lithium battery the case is simple:

2 min
Refuelling instead of hours of charging
–20 °C
Full performance in sub-zero temperatures
~1/1000
Critical raw materials compared with a lithium battery
~2×
Power density of the established open-cathode standard

No flammability or transport restrictions, 98 % of system mass reusable, and products designed and manufactured in the EU with no critical components sourced from outside the EU — a precondition for MIL and NATO supply-chain eligibility.

Heritage

More than twenty years of fuel-cell development

Our platform is the work of Pragma Industries, the French fuel-cell pioneer founded in 2004. In 2026 its technology, patents, trademarks, production equipment and team became part of the Forking Future consortium — and continue here, in Bayonne, as Unconventional Energy SAS.

  • 2004Pragma Industries founded in the French Basque Country; PEM fuel-cell R&D begins
  • 2019 · 2024Hydrogen systems in service at the G7 Biarritz summit and the Paris Olympic Games
  • 2026Technology, patents and team acquired by Forking Future Oy; Unconventional Energy SAS founded in Bayonne
  • 2027Production replicated in Finland; Gen 7–8 cells; Nordic sales and application engineering
Pragma Industries — The fuel cell company
now part of the Forking Future consortium
  • Commercially validated technology at TRL 9
  • Two PCT patent families valid until 2041 — 11 patents in total
  • Cell generations 1–6 developed and produced; Gen 7–8 in development
  • Drone integrations and generators delivered to European MIL and civil customers
  • Over 500 certified hydrogen bicycles delivered; more than 250 in daily use
Forking Future

One consortium, four countries, one European supply chain

Unconventional Energy is the business brand of the Forking Future consortium: independent fuel-cell companies in Finland, France, Norway and the Netherlands under one technology platform and one European supply chain. In France the business is operated by Unconventional Energy SAS; in other countries the consortium's local companies use the same brand. Cell chemistry and stack design come from Bayonne; production is replicated at the Finnish sites, with sales and application engineering in Norway and the Netherlands.

Bayonne, FranceUnconventional Energy SAS — product development, first production, customer supportOperational 2026
Lehmo, FinlandForking Future Oy — consortium lead company: IPR, financing, sales leadershipSince 2024
Varkaus, FinlandStack production line replicating the French model2027
Jyväskylä, FinlandProduction and R&D / industrialisation2027
Imatra, FinlandMILA — test and application centre for mobile solutions2027
Norway · NetherlandsSales, application engineering and defence channels2026–2027

Forking Future website

Contact

Building a fuel-cell powered product? Let's talk.

Drone manufacturers, light-mobility OEMs, defence integrators and backup-power users: we size, integrate and commission the fuel cell for your platform — and supply the hydrogen ecosystem around it.

Pierre Forté
Operations Manager · Unconventional Energy SAS, Bayonne

Stack design, test equipment, production and sales in France.

info@unco.tech

Pekka Niskasaari
Head of Consortium, Board Member and Founder · Forking Future Oy

Consortium sales, financing, Finnish sites and Nordic partnerships.

pekka@forkingfuture.com · +358 40 968 7711

Send us a message

Tell us about your platform and what you need. We reply within two working days.

Unconventional Energy SAS · 66 Allées Marines · 64100 Bayonne · France
Forking Future Oy · Business ID 3433877-1 · Lehmo, Finland