Hopium announced plans to build an industrial site in Normandy for the development and production of the Machina hydrogen sedan.
The 85-acre site in the Douains area is targeted to have a capacity of 20,000 vehicles per year with an operational target by the end of 2024, with inauguration scheduled for early 2025.
The new Hopium site is expected to employ over 1,500 people in the future and as such intends to contribute to the economic dynamism of the region.
Normandy was the first French region to adopt the Hydrogen Plan in 2018. Nearly a third of the national hydrogen consumption is in Normandy.
Olivier Lombard, CEO of Hopium, said, “Hopium, by selecting this site for the location of its state-of-the-art infrastructure, is completing another important step in its roadmap, which will lead to the launch of the first Hopium Machina models on the market by the end of 2025.”
Machina itself is a high-end hydrogen-powered sedan inspired by motorsport. First introduced to the public as a concept car in 2021.
As initial key data for its platform, Hopium continues to name an output value of more than 500 hp, which corresponds to approx. 370 kW, and a top speed of 230 km/h on the company website.
With one tank of fuel – the company states a refueling time of three minutes – the vehicle should be able to cover a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.
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