Dutch solar car company Lightyear, based in Helmond, is making a fresh start after facing bankruptcy earlier this year. The company has been restructured and approved by the bankruptcy administrator Reinoud van Oeijen. The restructuring involved creating a new company, Lightyear Technologies, which will take over all patents belonging to Lightyear and its solar cell subsidiary Lightyear Layer. The new company will build a mass-model Lightyear 2, and there is room for almost 100 of the company’s former employees.
Lightyear Technologies is planning to raise funds for paying off the company’s creditors through a special online auction in April. This auction will feature some of the demo vehicles of the first Lightyear 0 model. Interested parties can also come and see the cars in person on a viewing day on Wednesday, April 19.
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The restart of Lightyear was announced in February after raising 8 million euros within a day with loyal investors. However, the company still needed the approval of the bankruptcy administrator to proceed with the relaunch plan. According to Van Oeijen, it was an extremely complex process, but they were able to complete the restructuring in a relatively short time.
The first car produced by Lightyear, the Lightyear 0, only went into production with a partner in Finland in November. However, the company stopped production of this expensive model earlier this year, and only a handful of vehicles were produced before the company faced bankruptcy.
Despite the challenges, Lightyear CEO and co-founder Lex Hoefsloot is pleased with the news from the bankruptcy administrator. “We are very pleased to have completed the restructuring. We believe it was necessary for the future of Lightyear,” he said. “The team has worked hard to make this happen.”
The restart of Lightyear marks an important milestone for the company, and it will be exciting to see how the new mass-model Lightyear 2 fares in the market.
