UK – Glasgow-based start-up manufacturer Hydrogen Vehicle Systems Ltd (HVS) has finally admitted defeat. “Despite substantial investments, including GBP 25 million in UK government grants, the vision of vehicle manufacturing has failed”, read an official HVS press release. We have known for quite some time that the cash-strapped hydrogen HGV manufacturer has been mirroring some of the same traits of other startups in the industry who have gone bankrupt (Tevva and Arrival etc). By focusing exclusively on manufacturing, the company has not been able to generate any revenue from licensing technology. These were the words from Otto van Reijendam, Barclays’ chief hydrogen investment expert, who warned HVS two years ago about potential insolvency (as did T&BB!). The company has blamed these misjudgements on the previous leadership team. Ushering in returning founder and new CEO Abdul Waheed, HVS is seeking GBP 700,000 to stave off insolvency whilst pivoting its strategy from being a hydrogen truck OEM to a technology (hydrogen propulsion system and AI-driven emissions reduction technology*) licensing model as it seeks new investment. Furthermore, the company is looking into the viability of the retrofit market.

Despite the recent investment from Qatari AI company Excelledia Ventures, changes in senior management and the slimming down of operations of its attribute prototype (AP) build, the vultures continue to circle in the form of insolvency practitioners. HVS continues to struggle with liquidity, which prompted the company to feature on JP Jenkins (the UK’s oldest private share trading marketplace), allowing international investors to trade its shares. The term, “once bitten, twice shy” may spring to mind for previous investors which include the EG Group (who have written off a GBP 25 million investment), Excelledia Ventures and the UK government through grant funding (GBP 25 million). The company is now hoping to court new investment from the “Barclays Climate Ventures’ GBP 500M fund, the GBP 1B Qatar-UK Climate Tech Fund, and the EURO 1.8 trillion European Green Fund to support its recovery and growth.”