Nikola finds hydrogen distributor for future European fuel cell trucks

Europe leads in fuel cell stations

Europe is far ahead of the U.S. in establishing a hydrogen fueling infrastructure. There are 144 hydrogen fueling stations across the continent, according to the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Joint Undertaking. The Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center listed 43 publicly available hydrogen stations in the U.S. in 2020.

Nikola plans a network of 700 hydrogen stations across the U.S. and Canada by 2028. Each station is expected to cost about $17 million. The startup maker of fuel cell Class 8 trucks expects to open its first station in Arizona this year.

The availability of hydrogen has long been the egg in the chicken-and-the-egg conundrum surrounding the viability of fuel cells. The prohibitive cost of hydrogen — more than $16 for a kilogram (a little more than a quart) — is seen as a stumbling block to wide scale use of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Nikola is on a quest to get the cost to $2-$3 per kilogram. Its recent deal to buy solar-generated electricity from an Arizona utility at between 2 and 3 cents a kilowatt (kW) would allow power-intensive production of hydrogen through electrolysis that separates water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules.

Nikola’s fuel cell vehicles in Europe and the U.S. follow battery-electric commercial trucks planned for production by the end of the year.

All commercial fuel cell vehicles benefit

The collaboration with IVECO, a subsidiary of U.K.-based CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI), is to support the European commercial transportation system by working with industry partners to install safe, reliable and cost-effective storage and fueling locations.

“Our collaboration is a great first step in starting up a growing platform of partnerships to make this a reality here in Europe, which requires entrepreneurial and nonlinear thinking across fossil industrial structures,” said Gerrit Marx, president, commercial and specialty vehicles, CNH Industrial.

Hyundai Motor Corp. is among the first to commercialize fuel trucks in Europe. It delivered seven of 50 planned Xcient fuel cell trucks to Switzerland last October.

“OGE is committed to establishing a pipeline infrastructure to transport hydrogen from production sources to critical exit points of distribution,” said Thomas Hüwener, OGE’s chief technical officer. 

Related articles:

No partners, no problem: Nikola may do hydrogen fueling stations solo

Nikola wants cheap electricity for Arizona hydrogen stations

Hydrogen fuel: Linchpin of electric truck maker Nikola’s business 

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