diff --git a/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/DefaultSqlClientPoolConfiguration.java b/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/DefaultSqlClientPoolConfiguration.java
index 412ead56c..2a95cc716 100644
--- a/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/DefaultSqlClientPoolConfiguration.java
+++ b/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/DefaultSqlClientPoolConfiguration.java
@@ -93,11 +93,28 @@ public PoolOptions poolOptions() {
 	public SqlConnectOptions connectOptions(URI uri) {
 		String scheme = uri.getScheme();
 		if( scheme.equalsIgnoreCase( "h2" )) {
-			   return new SqlConnectOptions()
+			// H2 separates parameters in the url with a semicolon (';')
+			// "jdbc:h2:~/test;DATABASE_TO_UPPER=FALSE";
+			SqlConnectOptions options = new SqlConnectOptions()
 					// username
 					.setUser("sa")
 					// password
 					.setPassword("");
+			int index = uri.toString().indexOf( ';' );
+			if( index > -1 ) {
+				String query = uri.toString().substring( index+1 );
+				String[] params = query.split( ";" );
+				for(String param : params) {
+					final int position = param.indexOf( "=" );
+					if ( position != -1 ) {
+						// We assume the first '=' is the one separating key and value
+						String key = param.substring( 0, position );
+						String value = param.substring( position + 1 );
+						options.addProperty( key, value );
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			return options;
 		}
 		String path = scheme.equals( "oracle" )
 				? oraclePath( uri )
diff --git a/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/H2SqlClientPool.java b/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/H2SqlClientPool.java
index b49ab06c6..56ea174c2 100644
--- a/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/H2SqlClientPool.java
+++ b/hibernate-reactive-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/reactive/pool/impl/H2SqlClientPool.java
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletionStage;
 
-import org.hibernate.HibernateError;
 import org.hibernate.engine.jdbc.spi.JdbcServices;
 import org.hibernate.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlStatementLogger;
 import org.hibernate.internal.util.config.ConfigurationHelper;
@@ -38,6 +37,8 @@ public class H2SqlClientPool extends SqlClientPool
 
 	private static final Log LOG = LoggerFactory.make( Log.class, MethodHandles.lookup() );
 
+	private static final String DEFAULT_URL = "jdbc:h2:~/test;DATABASE_TO_UPPER=FALSE";
+
 	//Asynchronous shutdown promise: we can't return it from #close as we implement a
 	//blocking interface.
 	private volatile Future<Void> closeFuture = Future.succeededFuture();
@@ -108,9 +109,7 @@ public void stop() {
 	public static URI parse(String url) {
 
 		if ( url == null || url.trim().isEmpty() ) {
-			throw new HibernateError(
-					"The configuration property '" + Settings.URL + "' was not provided, or is in invalid format. This is required when using the default DefaultSqlClientPool: " +
-							"either provide the configuration setting or integrate with a different SqlClientPool implementation" );
+			return URI.create( DEFAULT_URL );
 		}
 
 		if ( url.startsWith( "jdbc:" ) ) {
diff --git a/hibernate-reactive-core/src/test/java/org/hibernate/reactive/containers/H2Database.java b/hibernate-reactive-core/src/test/java/org/hibernate/reactive/containers/H2Database.java
index 08c23d261..ad6a0b355 100644
--- a/hibernate-reactive-core/src/test/java/org/hibernate/reactive/containers/H2Database.java
+++ b/hibernate-reactive-core/src/test/java/org/hibernate/reactive/containers/H2Database.java
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ public String getUri() {
 
 	@Override
 	public String getScheme() {
-		return "h2";
+		return "h2:";
 	}
 
 	@Override
@@ -104,7 +104,31 @@ public String getExpectedNativeDatatype(Class<?> dataType) {
 
 	@Override
 	public String createJdbcUrl(String host, int port, String database, Map<String, String> params) {
-		return getRegularJdbcUrl();
+		// Primary mode for H2 is embedded which uses the URL format:   "jdbc:h2:~/test"
+		// H2 can also be configured as a remote server.
+		//  	EXAMPLE 1:  jdbc:h2:tcp://localhost/D:/myproject/data/project-name
+		//  	EXAMPLE 2:  jdbc:h2:tcp://localhost/~/test
+		//  	EXAMpLE 3:  jdbc:h2:tcp://localhost:9081/~/test
+		final StringBuilder paramsBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+		if ( params != null && !params.isEmpty() ) {
+			params.forEach( (key, value) -> {
+				paramsBuilder.append( jdbcParamDelimiter() );
+				paramsBuilder.append( key );
+				paramsBuilder.append( "=" );
+				paramsBuilder.append( value );
+			} );
+		}
+		String url = "jdbc:" + getScheme() + "//" + host;
+		if ( port > -1 ) {
+			url += ":" + port;
+		}
+		if ( paramsBuilder.length() > 0 ) {
+			url += jdbcStartQuery() + paramsBuilder.substring( 1 );
+		}
+		if ( database != null ) {
+			return url + ";database=" + database;
+		}
+		return url;
 	}
 
 	@Override