Hydrogen-powered big-rig company Nikola and Arizona Public Service (APS) have received the go ahead from state utility regulators for an agreement to use surplus electricity to generate clean hydrogen gas to power fuel cell vehicles. 

The deal provides Phoenix-based with a competitive electric rate specifically designed for the production, processing, and dispensing of hydrogen to accelerate the development of carbon-free vehicles and fueling stations for the transportation industry. 

It’s another step forward to the realization of a zero-emission heavy-duty freight corridor along the I-10 freeway between Phoenix and Los Angeles, company officials and state regulators said.  

“The approval of this special rate for hydrogen production is critical for advancing the future of zero-emissions transportation and building a hydrogen economy,” Nikola CEO Mark Russell said.

Advancing hydrogen economy in the state

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) unanimously approved the application from APS for the new rate structure this month, which  could serve as a national model for additional hydrogen production facilities, ACC Chairwoman Lea Márquez Peterson said. 

Arizona will benefit with cleaner air, jobs for the new economy, and increased economic development, she said. 

“For decades, hydrogen has been a promising, but elusive, source of clean energy for both the transportation and power sectors. We simply haven’t done enough to bring hydrogen to the mainstream,” Márquez Peterson said.

Under the rate structure, Nikola officials said they will be able to deliver hydrogen at “market leading prices” and within the ranges required for Nikola to offer competitive lease rates for its trucks’ customers. 

The company anticipates deploying hundreds of millions of dollars in capital to construct its hydrogen facilities throughout the state and employ a diverse workforce in doing so, they said.  

Win-win for electric customers and APS, too 

APS, which filed the application for the unique rate structure in December, will also benefit from the agreement. The hydrogen fueling stations will require a very high load capacity, above 92-percent. Customers with high load factors provide operational and other economic benefits to the distribution system. 

These customers help to reduce the overall cost for APS to serve all of its customers, flattening the overall load profile and allowing APS to operate its power plants in a more efficient manner, reducing the per kilowatt hour costs to APS customers, APS officials said.

Production of hydrogen-electric long haul trucks coming

Phoenix-based is a designer and manufacturer of zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles, electric vehicle drivetrains, vehicle components, energy storage systems, and hydrogen station infrastructure. 

In a venture with Italian industrial truck maker , Nikola is planning production of a battery-electric semi truck next year in Ulm, Germany. 

Nikola also has begun construction of a $600-million electric truck assembly plant in Coolidge, Ariz., where it plans to start constructing a fuel-cell semi truck in 2023. The hydrogen-electric powered semi-truck is for the medium and long-haul trucking sectors, with more than 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 ft. lbs. of torque.

To power these trucks, Nikola plans to build hydrogen across Arizona and North America. 

To view Nikola’s Two hydrogen-electric powered semi trucks in action, visit .

The post Nikola and APS deal to pave way for zero-emission freight route from Phoenix to L.A. appeared first on Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­.

Nikola Motors has broken ground in Coolidge, Ariz. for its new manufacturing plant that will start rolling out emission-free big rigs next year, company executives said. 

A carbon-free pickup truck also is in the works. Called the Badger, it is being hailed by company officials as future competition for America’s most popular truck, the Ford 150 Crown.

The manufacturing project is part of the race by Nikola and other truck makers to commercialize heavy-duty vehicles to meet standards to reduce greenhouse emissions across the globe.

New plant in Coolidge to hire 2,000 workers to build plant 

Last week, the battery-electric and hydrogen-electric truck maker broke ground on 430 acres near Houser and Vail roads in Coolidge in Pinal County. Initially, the plant is expected to hire 2,000 workers to start building the plant. It will first produce Nikola’s battery-electric Class 8 “Tre” semi-trucks.  

The startup has raised over $200 million from investors for the $600-million project that will eventually encompass 1-million square-feet. At build out, the plant is expected to produce 35,000 battery and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks a year.  

Nikola will produce heavy-duty and pickup trucks in phases including:

Battery-electric “Tre” for urban driving    

The battery-electric cabover Tre model will be the first truck off the assembly line next year. 

These trucks are designed for urban deliveries with travel routes of less than 300 miles. Nikola will start producing the in the next few months as part of a joint venture with European truck maker Iveco at a plant in Ulm, Germany. Production of the Tre in North America will start in Coolidge next year after the slightly smaller European model has been tested.   

Nikola “Two” fuel-cell big rig to offer more horsepower, distance  

By 2023, the company plans to produce its first semi, which will use hydrogen gas to power an electric motor. The truck will have up to 1,000 horsepower and travel 500 to 750 miles between fill ups, company officials said. 

Nikola already has 14,600 orders for the longer-haul trucks. Anheuser-Busch has committed to buying 800 trucks.

“Badger” to compete with Chevy, Ford pickups 

Nikola also is taking for its battery and fuel-cell Badger pick-up. The goal is to eventually compete with popular trucks like the Ford F-150 crown, said Trevor Milton, executive chairman and founder.  

Milton, who called the Badger “the coolest pickup truck the world has ever seen,” plans to unveil the model in December with a competition against competitor trucks, he said on CNBC’s . 

“It’s really a true truck like Americans are used to,” he said. “It’s the size of an F-150. It’s used for job sites. … It’s got all the doors for a family. You can put carseats in it. You can put a four-wheeler in the back.”   

Partial opening to meet demand for carbon-free big rigs 

With buyers already putting in requests, the company has pushed up deadlines with plans to open the Coolidge plant partially to get moving on production of the Tre model. 

“[The .5 phase] will be a partial facility so we can start as soon as possible. We are very early in the development of that plan,” Mark Duchesne, Nikola’s global head of manufacturing told Transport Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ this week. “We have a need to build trucks even sooner than what we planned on, and we are working on how we can do that.”

Nikola plant to support jobs on both sides of border 

Initially, 2,000 workers will be employed to build the plant. At build out, the project will represent a $1 billion capital investment and the creation of up to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, company officials have said. 

Milton cited Gov. Doug Ducey for helping bring the innovative truck maker to the state. Ducey also is credited for helping attract electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors to Casa Grande in Pinal County. Lucid broke ground last year at the Casa Grande plant where it will produce its first car, the Lucid Air luxury sedan. 

Race to commercialize zero-carbon trucks 

Nikola is one of a number of truck makers racing to commercialize battery-electric and hydrogen fuel big rigs to meet greenhouse emissions standards across the globe. Among them are Daimler, Hyundai Motor, Tesla, Toyota and Volvo Trucks. 

Nikola, which based its headquarters in Phoenix last year, estimates sales will reach $150 million in 2021 and jump to $3.2 billion by 2024 as it ramps up production. By 2024, it expects to sell or lease 7,000 battery-powered units and 5,000 hydrogen fuel cell trucks, according to its Securities Exchange Commission . 

Arizona’s proximity to Mexico’s auto manufacturing supply chains helped play a part in Nikola’s entrance to the state, said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce and Industry.

“In emerging sectors like electric vehicle manufacturing, the Arizona-Sonora relationship is a key driver for major investments in Arizona,” Hamer said. “For both Lucid Motors and Nikola Motors, the auto part supply chain between the two states was a major factor in winning the hyper-competitive manufacturing investments in Pinal County.”

The post Arizona’s new Nikola plant readies to roll out zero-carbon big rigs appeared first on Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­.