Somehow I missed this …
https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2020/04/06/the-week-in-bankruptcies.html
ZPower LLC filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 17 in the Northern District of Texas. The debtor listed an address of 4765 Calle Quetzal, Camarillo, and is represented in court by attorney Davor Rukavina. ZPower LLC listed assets ranging from $10,000,001 to $50,000,000 and debts ranging from $50,000,001 to $100,000,000. The filing did not identify a largest creditor.
The numbers are staggering.
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Part of the story… (paywall to read the rest)
Looks like friction with a lender, allegedly leading to a no-cash position and payroll trouble.
Update from Widex from about one month ago:
ZPower, the company that supplied the optional rechargeable battery system for WIDEX EVOKE™ and WIDEX BEYOND™ hearing aids, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.
Regardless of the outcome of those proceedings, Widex will continue to service all our hearing aids, including ZPower rechargeable units for as long as we are able. However, we have made the decision to no longer sell ZPower rechargeable hearing aids effective immediately. We will have more updates on support of ZPower in the near future.
For patients for whom rechargeability is a crucial factor, the WIDEX MOMENT™ mRIC R D is a state-of-the-art lithium-ion rechargeable solution that also offers a durable and stylish design, pure-link 2.0 and 2.4 GHz connectivity, and pure, natural sound with Widex PureSound™.
This is another bad hit for Widex. They seem like a niche market aid now. I wonder how long they will last in these economic times.
I believe Widex will be around a long time, They are one of the first hearing aids that I can remember they have survived for a long time and with the merger of Widex and Signa they will be around.
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I don’t read legalese. But I think the Judge denied some motions and ordered arbitration on other motions to be wrapped up by status conference on May 2, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. (prevailing Central Time). Read the last few pages;
Legalese is the word you’re looking for, I think 
Yep, legalese 
But this spat between ZPower and Widex aside, any thoughts out there about new hearing aid models that would use ZPower? Probably not, right? The manufacturers new rechargeable hearing aid models all seem to be Li-ion powered in-house designs.
I think li-ion is the clear winner at this point.
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Riot Energy (formerly ZPower) is now claiming the title of being the only manufacturer of the patented ZPower 312 silver-zinc rechargeable battery.
Any info on why Widex dropped fuel cells and if there are any rumors of them coming back?
Maybe ppl would be squeamish about refueling each of the two small tanks of methanol sitting inside their head?
“Aside” their heads perhaps? I hadn’t heard of anybody talking about implanting them. It’s a very small volume–about 2 tenths of a cc or if one were using an insulin syringe, 20 units. Mainly interested in what was behind Widex’s decision. Methanol seems a lot more available than lithium. They both burn at incredibly hot temperatures.
I suppose it couldn’t be any worse then having Lithium-ion, which can be a fire hazard, those ITE rechargeable would be a worry.