Canadian tech firm HPQ Silicon Inc. and its French subsidiary Novacium have signed a commercial cooperation agreement with France-based Pragma Industries to deploy METAGENE™, a breakthrough green hydrogen production technology, across mobility and drone applications.
The agreement paves the way for integrating Novacium’s METAGENE™ stations into Pragma’s sustainable transportation ecosystem. A long-time hydrogen fuel cell innovator, Pragma designs hydrogen-powered bicycles and other light mobility solutions aimed at addressing last-mile transportation needs.
METAGENE™ technology allows for the off-grid, high-pressure generation of hydrogen using a non-explosive aluminum-silicon alloy. It produces 1.25 cubic meters of hydrogen per kilogram of fuel without requiring electricity or heavy infrastructure — a significant shift from conventional hydrogen supply chains.
“This collaboration strengthens our goal to make hydrogen mobility accessible and cost-effective,” said Pierre Forté, CEO of Pragma Industries. “With METAGENE™, we can deploy hydrogen stations independent of traditional infrastructure, enabling widespread use of hydrogen-powered vehicles and drones.”
The partnership also supports Pragma’s involvement in the MANGABHY project, which aims to develop hydrogen fuel cells for drones. METAGENE™ compact design and on-demand hydrogen generation make it suitable for meeting the energy requirements of drone operations in remote or infrastructure-poor areas.
HPQ and Novacium see this collaboration as a key validation of their hydrogen production approach. “Pragma’s confidence in METAGENE™ underscores its potential to solve persistent bottlenecks in green hydrogen adoption,” said Bernard Tourillon, CEO of HPQ and Novacium. “We believe this agreement can help drive a paradigm shift in green energy deployment.”
A pilot project is planned between late 2025 and early 2026 to evaluate integration of METAGENE™ into Pragma’s vehicle and drone systems. The test phase aims to validate a daily production capacity of 10 kilograms of hydrogen, enough to support fleets of hydrogen-powered units.
“This is more than just a hydrogen generator — it’s a platform for scalable, decentralized energy,” added Dr. Jed Kraiem, Novacium’s COO. “It offers a flexible solution where energy independence and deployment speed are critical.” The agreement currently does not include material financial terms.
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