Hydrogen flight pioneer Universal Hydrogen is bankrupt
Universal Hydrogen, the company that operated a partially hydrogen-powered flight in 2023, has used up all its cash reserves.
The converted ATR 72 (Image: Universal Hydrogen)
Surprisingly for many, the California-based pioneer in the field of hydrogen and fuel cell aviation, Universal Hydrogen (UH), has apparently gone bankrupt. At least that's what The Seattle Times reports, referring to a statement from the company to investors.
Universal Hydrogen carried out a partially hydrogen-powered flight in March last year. The test flight took off from Grant County International Airport near Moses Lake in the US state of Washington, lasted 15 minutes and went up to an altitude of 3500 feet MSL (around 1000 meters above sea level). heise online reported on the flight at the time.
In March of this year, Fast Company magazine included Universal Hydrogen on its list of the "most innovative companies of 2024". Last month, the renowned trade magazine Aviation Week reported that UH was busy taking its propulsion systems to a new level of performance and preparing for several flight tests.
At that time, however, UH's management was apparently already aware of the company's financial difficulties. The 100 million US dollars raised from investors had almost been used up and attempts to attract new investors were in vain.
Company to be wound up
In a letter to shareholders, quoted by The Seattle Times, Mark Cousin, CEO of Universal Hydrogen, announced the end of the company. The Chairman and CEO and the Board of Directors wrote that they had formally decided to wind down the company after all efforts to raise further funding from new investors had failed.
"We were unable to secure sufficient equity or debt financing to continue operations, nor were we able to develop a viable offer for a sale of the business or a similar strategic exit transaction," Cousin said.
Universal Hydrogen was founded in 2020 by Paul Eremenko, formerly Chief Technology Officer at Airbus. There is currently no mention on the UH website of the end of the vision or any arrangements for investors. The careers section still invites people to join the team. The "Latest News" refers to reports in the Washington Post and Aviation Week Network from February and March 2024.
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