It is near Vernon (Eure) that the manufacturer of an innovative car will be installed, whose engine will be a fuel cell that will transform air and hydrogen into electrical energy.
It’s official, the announcement was made by press release on September 22, 2022: the Hopium company confirms its arrival in Normandy.
It is near Vernon, in Douains (Eure), that the company founded by racing driver Olivier Lombard will set up a hydrogen car manufacturing plant.
Employment creation
The choice of Douains for this establishment was motivated by its geographical position, between Paris and the port of Le Havre, but also by its proximity to industrial sites and above all by the presence of a network of companies working in the field of ‘innovation’.
Hopium has announced plans to open a factory and a research and development center. This Norman site, from which the infrastructure will be commissioned at the end of 2024, it is expected to employ more than 1,500 people.
The goal, by 2025, is to manufacture 20,000 cars a year.
VIDEO: presentation of the Hopium Machina hydrogen car
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© Hopium / Robin Clive / Creative Supervision
an innovative car
Presented as an alternative to the electric car to replace thermal engines (gasoline and diesel), the hydrogen car is not yet very widespread. If trucks, coaches and buses are already equipped, the major manufacturers (with the exception of BMW, Toyota and Hyundai) shy away from this technology and prefer battery-powered electric motors.
Therefore, Hopium, which introduced its luxury sedan model in June 2022, would be the first French manufacturer to produce a hydrogen car. This car is presented with a neutral carbon footprint, an “exceptional” autonomy (1,000 kilometres), a power of 500 horsepower and a “record loading time”.
Hopium announces that it wants to design and develop a fuel cell “offering exceptional performance.” This cell allows electricity to be produced from air and hydrogen without emitting polluting emissions: just water!
This high-end car will be visible in Paris in October 2022 at the Mondial de l’auto show. “The Hopium Machina”For which several hundred future buyers have already made reservations, it will have a sale price of around 120,000 euros!