Nikola Unveils Nikola Two Hydrogen-Electric Hybrid Truck

At the Nikola World event in Scottsdale, Arizona, Nikola Motor Co. showed off two new vehicles, the Nikola Two hydrogen electric Class 8 truck and the Nikola Tre, designed for the European market.

The Nikola Two and Nikola Tre will be available with the company’s hydrogen-electric hybrid powertrain as well as all-electric versions for short-haul urban applications. The trucks feature up to 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 ft.-lbs. of torque. To accommodate the hydrogen-electric hybrid system, Nikola emphasized that the vehicles were built around the fuel cell.

All of Nikola’s products will also include autonomous driving hardware. The company says there are currently more than 13,000 Nikola trucks on order. Anheuser-Busch has ordered 800 of Nikola’s trucks alone, as part the company's strategy to convert its entire long-haul dedicated fleet to renewable power by 2025.

“I cannot wait to see your truck pull a load of Budweiser," said Ingrid De Ryck, vice president of procurement and sustainability with Anheuser-Busch, prior to the unveiling. "Give those Clydesdales a break," she said with a laugh.

Anheuser-Busch expects to integrate the Nikola trucks into its dedicated fleet beginning in 2020. The trucks will be able to travel between 500 and 1,200 miles and can be refilled in 20 minutes.

Nikola is currently building out a network of hydrogen fueling stations to support its vehicles. The company wants to build 100 hydrogen truck stations a year form 2020-2028 and plans to sell its trucks into routes or cities where they will be able to refuel. The company will start in areas with high concentrations of distribution centers.

"We recently opened our first hydrogen station at our Phoenix headquarters,” said Jesse Schneider, Nikola’s executive vice president of hydrogen.  “We are leading the way and working with industry and other OEMs to develop hydrogen standards to enable fueling in less than 15 minutes. The goal is safety and interoperability, so that anyone can fuel at our station. This is a big deal.”

Nikola previously announced that the Tre will be put into production from 2022-2023. The first Tre will undergo testing in Norway in 2020.

At Nikola World, the company also unveiled two non-commercial hydrogen electric vehicles, the Nikola Reckless, an autonomous-capable military all-terrain vehicle, a redesigned NZT off-highway vehicle, and the Nikola Water Adventure Vehicle, a personal watercraft.

"We want to transform everything about the transportation industry," said Trevor Milton, Nikola CEO. "With Nikola's vision, the world will be cleaner, safer and healthier."

Originally posted on Trucking Info