Nikola wants to use mobile hydrogen stations to support its fuel cell trucks.
The company on Wednesday said it has developed a trailer-mounted mobile refueling rig that can deliver hydrogen at 10,000 psi. It plans to display the rig publicly next week. The first unit “has completed commissioning and testing and has been released for market operation,” according to Nikola’s press release.
Nikola Tre
The additional units are scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of this year, forming part of a “mobile fuel program” to supplement stationary hydrogen stations. According to the company, the program will use a combination of mobile hydrogen stations owned by Nikola and some owned by third parties.
Nikola previously said they have plans 60 hydrogen stations by 2026, supported in part by government incentives, but this could help them get their trucks out in the meantime and meet their needs. It’s looking for nature Air to power several refueling centers and trucks.
Nikola Tre . hydrogen fuel cell truck
The network will provide hydrogen to customers who operate the Nikola Tre, a Class 8 fuel cell pickup truck with a 500-mile range that Nikola plans to build at a new plant in Coolidge, Arizona . Under an agreement announced in 2021, these US-assembled trucks will use fuel cell components from Bosch. Nikola also has a joint venture with truck manufacturer Iveco to assemble Bamboo Semis at that company’s Ulm, Germany plant.
Nikola has refocused on fuel cell commercial trucks recently after some escalating duties under founder Trevor Milton, who was accused of securities fraud in 2021 for allegedly deceiving investors. Milton pursued a pickup truck called the Badger and partnered with General Motors, but Nikola abandoned many of these projects.
