The DEFI H12 project is a collaborative initiative involving four French research laboratories and 6TMIC. The project aims to convert organic acids produced by fermentation into hydrogen by leveraging Microbial Electrolysis Cell technology. The approach consists in implementing an electrolyser in which acetic and butyric acids are oxidised at the anode, while the cathode conventionally ensures the abiotic reduction of water or protons, depending on the pH value.

Compared with conventional water electrolysis, electrolysers that oxidise organic acids require only 0.2 V (versus nearly 1 V for water oxidation). For an equivalent hydrogen production, this new type of electrolyser could therefore reduce energy costs by a factor of 10.