Hopium

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Hopium is a French car brand founded in 2019 by Olivier Lombard, a former Le Mans winner, with the goal of designing and building hydrogen-powered cars in France. The company is based in Paris and trades on Euronext Growth. As of 2022, Hopium employed about 161 people and did not report revenue, posting substantial losses.

Its flagship model, the Hopium Māchina Vision, was revealed as a hydrogen fuel-cell electric luxury sedan at the 2022 Paris Motor Show. The car uses a 368–500 kW (493–671 hp) electric motor, can reach around 230 km/h, and is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell plus battery system. It features four seats, a panoramic glass roof, and a high-tech digital dashboard, with a stated driving range of about 1,000 km. A rolling prototype named Alpha 0 was shown in 2021.

Production was planned to begin in 2025, with an estimated price of about €120,000. Hopium opened a pre-order book for 1,000 numbered units at a reservation price of €410 each.

The project has involved key partnerships, including Plastic Omnium to supply the hydrogen storage system and Saint-Gobain Sekurit to co-develop the car’s windows. In 2022, former French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari joined Hopium’s board, prompting scrutiny from the ethics watchdog, which found no illegal conflicts but noted an ethical risk requiring continuing oversight.