End of the road for Hopium? The French start-up which still recently promised to put the first hydrogen sedan on the car market, announced on Friday its placement in receivership as it faces significant financial difficulties. “By judgment dated July 19, the Paris Commercial Court opened for the benefit of the company Hopium a receivership procedure for an initial period of 6 months (until January 19, 2024), possibly renewable for 6 months”, specified the company in a press release.
The quotation of the company, suspended Thursday, will resume this Friday. Before the suspension, the stock was worth 90 cents, down more than 87% since the start of the year. In a second press release published on Friday, the start-up announced that it had found a way to finance itself with Atlas Special Opportunities. This contribution of fresh money “aims to allow the company to continue its activity over the next 12 months and to develop its fuel cell” until the realization of a prototype, specifies Hopium.
Chaired until mid-March by former Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Hopium, which presented itself as the Tesla of hydrogen with its Machina sedan, is in the grip of great financial difficulties. In 2022, its losses amounted to 23.9 million euros – against 8 million in 2021 -, linked in particular to the recruitment of 116 new employees, according to the company. At the beginning of 2023, 35 employees left the start-up via a collective contractual termination (RCC). Despite several capital increases last year for a total of 4.1 million euros, the company posted negative equity as of December 31, 2022 (-10.4 million euros) and cash also in the red, at -1.3 million euros.
In May, when publishing its 2022 annual results, Hopium warned that the continuation of its activities was contingent on raising additional funds. In early April, Hopium announced that it was focusing on the development of its fuel cell technology, postponing its commercialization project for the Machina, which was initially scheduled for release in 2025.
Experts and industrialists remain divided on the place of hydrogen in the decarbonization of the automotive sector. Toyota or BMW place great hopes on it, while many other brands reserve it for utility vehicles, which are more difficult to convert to electric.
