7 minutes

Dennis Katsnelson

The Nikola Tre fuel cell electric vehicle's commercial release brings the practicality of hydrogen-powered trucks one step closer to becoming a reality. 500 miles is the anticipated range of the Tre FCEV, and its GVWR is 82,000 pounds. In 20 minutes, it can refill. The idea of using hydrogen as a practical source of energy for the transportation sector is met with skepticism, according to Jason Roycht, global head of Nikola's Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Market Development.

This summer, he remarked, "There's a joke about fuel cells." "Fuel cells are and always will be the powertrain of the future."

At its production site in Coolidge, Arizona, Nikola commercially debuted the Nikola Tre fuel cell electric vehicle on September 28. Nikola was established 10 years ago and has faced enough scandals and hardships lasting a century. Still, it has triumphed in the competition to introduce hydrogen-powered trucks to fleets in the United States.

President and CEO of Nikola Steve Girsky said, "It's a credit to the constant 'can do' spirit of our team and is a step closer to realizing our vision of sustainable and efficient transportation. To support our clients, we are concentrating on delivering our trucks at scale and maintaining our status as early adopters of the hydrogen refueling ecosystem.”

500 miles is the anticipated range of the Tre FCEV, and its GVWR is 82,000 pounds. While there are now just a few restricted hydrogen stations available, Nikola's energy company, HYLA, can set up mobile fuelling stations and expects refueling to take less than 20 minutes.

The zero-emission truck manufacturer in Phoenix began production on July 31 and has spent the past few months ensuring the vehicles are prepared for client delivery. There have been 223 non-binding orders for the FCEVs from 23 fleet customers. J.B. Hunt, Biagi Brothers, and TTSI are a few of these.

The Coolidge plant, which just finished a Phase 2 assembly expansion, can produce 2,400 trucks annually when three shifts are in operation. By the end of the year, the Bosch-supplied fuel cell power module assembly line is expected to be operational. It's vital to note that Proterra provides the batteries because the battery-powered version of the Tre, which uses batteries made by Romeo Power, has experienced a string of battery fires. More than 200 BEVs had to be recalled because of this.

However, Nikola's strategy includes supplying hydrogen through its energy company, HYLA, suggesting that hydrogen may be a strength for the company. Across the country, the business has service agreements with companies like Alta Equipment Group. Installation, leasing, refueling, and charging, as well as long-term maintenance for both Tre variants, will be offered to Nikola consumers in 15 states.

Although the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has yet to do much for American consumers, its subsidies could lower the cost of producing hydrogen. A producer of green hydrogen (produced from renewable energy sources) may be eligible for a $3 per kg production tax credit for the first ten years of business. Additionally, the IRA offers a $40,000 clean commercial vehicle tax credit to clients who use fuel cells. The HVIP subsidy would add $288,000 to each vehicle in California.

One Nikola FCEV is projected to cost more than $750,000 in total.

The California HVIP grants up to $288,000 per FCEV, and the Inflation Reduction Act's $40,000 clean commercial vehicle tax credit could be helpful to truck buyers.

As Bosch launched its fuel-cell production in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier this month, Thomas Wintrich, head of Fuel Cell Mobility Solutions, remarked that "the driver is always TCO in the trucking industry." "It becomes interesting if you have the infrastructure and can generate TCO, which Nikola can do for the trucks."

Competition Heats Up

The fight against commercialization is just one of several. Although legacy OEMs are catching up to Nikola, it enjoys a large lead. By testing their collaborative Cellcentric FCEV on public roads, Daimler Truck and Volvo Trucks have gained ground in the European market. Additionally, Daimler revealed that the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 prototype's maximum range at 660 miles (1,0000+ kilometers) was 80,000 pounds. (GVWR).

Soon, customers can order the Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell tractor that Paccar developed with Toyota Motors through its Kenworth and Peterbilt brands.

The XCIENT (6x4) FCEV from Hyundai has been implemented in five nations and is almost ready to start production in America. This 450-mile-distance fuel-cell tractor has completed 4 million miles of testing as of last May. Just fuel cell rivals there. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, is known for calling fuel cells "fool cells," the company is garnering notice for its successful tests of the Tesla Semi with Pepsi. The Semi covered 1,600 miles in less than two days while participating in the ongoing Run On Less-Electric Depot event organized by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. Five charging stops were necessary for this, and according to NACFE, the vehicle was "fairly fully loaded" the entire time.

The battery weight, efficiency, and charging time of electric trucks, which have been in production for a while, are anticipated to increase over the next decade; nonetheless, for the time being, these limitations place them behind FCEVs as possible long-haul trucking solutions.

Infrastructure barriers for EVs are not amusing, according to Roycht: "There are a number of our customers who for now can't get access to the power requirements needed at their facilities at the time they need them to be able to charge more than a couple of trucks." According to our research, a fuel-cell hydrogen implementation can address those grid constraints, as well as the EV concerns outlined above.

One thing is sure: Hydrogen has shown it's no longer a joke. It's still too early to tell how the hydrogen vs. electric race will pan out.