FUELSAVE GMBH

Their core work

FuelSave GmbH is a German technology SME specialising in hydrogen-based fuel systems designed to reduce fossil fuel consumption and emissions in real-world applications. Their signature technology is a hydrogen syngas injection unit — a retrofit device that feeds hydrogen and syngas into combustion engines to improve efficiency and cut exhaust emissions, first demonstrated on maritime vessels. Beyond marine transport, they have expanded into agricultural energy systems, contributing to projects that combine on-farm hydrogen production with photovoltaic electrification to achieve fossil-free farming operations. They are an applied engineering company: they build hardware that gets installed and tested in field conditions, not a research lab producing reports.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FuelSave's first H2020 project (2018–2020) was entirely focused on the maritime transport sector — reducing ship fuel consumption using hydrogen syngas injection — reflecting a product-to-market push for their core combustion technology. By 2020 they had pivoted toward agriculture, joining HyPErFarm to apply hydrogen energy thinking to farm-level electrification alongside photovoltaics. The thread connecting both phases is hydrogen as a practical, deployable energy carrier — the application sector has changed, but the core competence has not.

FuelSave is broadening their hydrogen technology from a single maritime product toward multi-sector green energy applications, suggesting they are positioning as a horizontal hydrogen hardware provider rather than a niche marine specialist.

How they like to work

FuelSave has both led a project and joined as a partner, but with only two projects the sample is small. Their coordinator role in FUELSAVE was secured through the SME Instrument — a highly competitive, company-focused scheme — which signals confidence in their own IP and go-to-market strategy. With 14 consortium partners across 4 countries over two projects, their networks are mid-sized and likely built around the specific technical needs of each project rather than long-standing institutional relationships.

FuelSave has worked with 14 unique partners across 4 countries, a moderate network for just two projects. Their geographic spread suggests European-level collaboration rather than purely domestic partnerships, though 4 countries is a relatively tight footprint.

What sets them apart

FuelSave is rare among SMEs in that they hold their own deployable hydrogen hardware technology — not a consulting firm or research spinout, but a company with a physical product tested on ships. This gives them credibility in consortia that need a technology demonstrator or industrial end-user rather than another research voice. For future partners, they represent a direct route from lab research to real-world field testing in transport or agricultural contexts.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FUELSAVE
  A self-named SME Instrument Phase 2 project — the most commercially oriented EU funding scheme — built entirely around FuelSave's proprietary FS MARINE+ hydrogen syngas injection unit, with EUR 1.6M in EC funding confirming the technology's maturity and market potential.
• HyPErFarm
  Marks FuelSave's expansion into agriculture and agrivoltaics, combining on-farm photovoltaic power with hydrogen production — an unusual sector jump that broadens their application portfolio beyond maritime.