(Paris, France) - The French start-up Hopium has filed for bankruptcy and announced the opening of legal restructuring proceedings. According to a notice on the website, this is intended to allow the continuation of operations, the repayment of debts and the reorganization of the company as part of a business continuity plan for an initial period of six months. An extension for another six months is possible. With the procedure, which is under the protection of the court, all debts would initially be frozen as of July 19th. The share's listing on Euronext Growth Paris was therefore resumed.
Design concept 2021 presented
The company, which has been listed on the stock exchange since October 2020, had its design concept for at the beginning of 2021 “Māchina” presented: a technological high-end platform for a hydrogen-powered sports car. In May 2021, Hopium and French automotive plastic element supplier Plastic Omnium signed a partnership to develop the Māchina hydrogen storage system. The tanks should be able to hold six kilograms of hydrogen within three minutes and carry the 500 hp car 1.000 kilometers on one tank full.
Hopium logo © Hopium
In June 2021, Hopium introduced the first prototype of its vehicle as the “Hopium Māchina Alpha 0”. In October, Hopium reported 1.000 pre-orders for the sedan and hoped for sales of 2025 million euros by 120. The price for the vehicle was given as 120.000 euros. Commercial series production for the markets in Europe, China, South Korea, Japan and the USA should begin in 2026. The sales expectation by 2030 was more than one billion euros. Hopium was founded by French Le Mans racer Olivier Lombard, who, according to previous reports, had been driving hydrogen-powered racing cars for several years.
During the ongoing process, Hopium will “continue to benefit from the support of its financial partner Atlas Special Opportunities.” This will allow the development of a prototype to continue. The observation period also gives the company the opportunity to continue ongoing contacts and discussions with potential industrial and business partners.
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Design study: Commercial series production of the “Māchina” should start in 2026. © Hopium
