Horizon Fuel Cell Group has acquired the vehicle intellectual property of its defunct spin-out, Hyzon Motors, signaling a bid to re-enter the hydrogen heavy-vehicle market while leveraging its own fuel cell technology.
The Singapore-based company says the move will enable it to resume production of hydrogen-powered trucks and expand integration of its proprietary fuel cell systems for customers in the US, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Chairman George Gu, who also previously chaired Hyzon, described the acquisition as a way to “serve customers and bring new revenue streams to Horizon.” No purchase price has been disclosed, leaving questions about the financial scale of the deal.
Hyzon was spun out of Horizon in 2020 with ambitions to become a leading hydrogen truck and waste collection vehicle manufacturer. However, operational and governance problems quickly emerged. Between Q2 2022 and Q1 2023, the company was out of compliance with Nasdaq listing rules after failing to publish financial results while investigating irregularities in revenue recognition for truck deliveries in China and Europe.
The probe uncovered misstatements in revenue for multiple deliveries, prompting Hyzon to restate its figures and pay a $25 million penalty to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Leadership changes followed, including the removal of Gu from Hyzon’s board.
Despite attempts to reset strategy and curb costs, Hyzon faced mounting headwinds: slowing customer orders, subsidy uncertainty, and escalating cash burn. By early 2024, the company initiated layoffs and ultimately entered liquidation. The acting CEO used special voting rights to force through the plan, leaving shareholders with minimal — if any — residual value.
For Horizon, the reacquisition of Hyzon’s vehicle IP offers a pathway back into the commercial hydrogen mobility sector at a time when regulatory pressure on emissions and demand for zero-emission logistics solutions are increasing. Yet, the company will need to navigate the same market realities that undermined Hyzon — including cost competitiveness, infrastructure build-out, and fleet operator adoption — to translate its technology into sustainable commercial success.
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