Riversimple

Riversimple is a UK-based company developing hydrogen fuel cell cars for the European market. Its “Rasa” two-seater coupe has a range of 300 miles and can attain a top speed of 60 miles per hour. The company aims to begin commercial production of the coupe in 2024, and a light commercial vehicle in 2025, and a larger family car thereafter.

Rasa cars are in trials with the public as of February 2024, with the vehicles being built at its R&D facility in Abergavenny, Wales. The company also plans to deploy a 150,000 square foot facility in Aberdeen, in the north-east of Scotland.

The company intends to operate under a mobility-as-a-service business model, renting vehicles for a monthly fee rather than selling them outright. The company expects to have a fleet of roughly 180,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2032.

Key customers and partnerships

In May 2023, Riversimple was one of 15 partners to join a new project called REPOXYBLE, funded by Horizon Europe, to develop advanced materials for the manufacture of fuel-efficient and high-performance vehicles.

In July 2022, Riversimple signed up Element 2 as its refueling infrastructure partner. In July 2021, the company partnered with DHL Supply Chain to establish a green supply chain to bring its vehicles to the UK market. In February 2021, the company collaborated with the German multinational conglomerate Siemens to prepare for mass production. Since July 2020, Riversimple has also partnered with the Swansea City Council to promote hydrogen for transportation. And since June 2016, the company has partnered with Monmouthshire County Council and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) to test beta versions of Rasa vehicles.

Funding and financials

In March 2023, the company raised an undisclosed amount in an equity crowdfunding campaign. Previously, in July 2021, Riversimple raised GBP 1.5 million (USD 1.9 million), also in a crowdfunding campaign, and intended to use the funds to build vehicles for customer trials that began earlier that year.

In October 2020, the company opened a funding round to raise GBP 150 million (USD 195 million) over the next three years to fund the construction of its first two plants.

Key competitors: None comparable (Riversimple is the only startup that develops hydrogen fuel-cell cars)