Nikola Corporation recently announced the commercial launch of the Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle at its manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Ariz. Nikola says the hydrogen fuel cell electric truck features a range of up to 500 miles and an estimated fueling time as low as 20 minutes. This truck is expected to have among the longest ranges of all commercially available zero tailpipe emission Class 8 trucks, the company says, with applications ranging from drayage and intermodal to metro-regional truckload and less-than-truckload to certain specialized hauling use cases. 

Nikola and its dealers have received 223 non-binding orders for its hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks from 23 customers, the company says. With a mixed-model production line at its Coolidge manufacturing facility capable of manufacturing both hydrogen fuel cell and battery-electric trucks, the facility stands ready to achieve an annual production capacity of approximately 2,400 trucks across three shifts.

Nikola says it is making progress on the fuel cell power module assembly line in Coolidge, scheduled for completion in Q4 of this year, with Bosch supplying these critical modules.

Nikola trucks are eligible for the California Air Resources Board Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, opening up access to incentives starting at $120,000 and ranging up to $288,000 per truck. Additionally, the recently reopened Innovative Small e-Fleet program in California offers incentives to small fleets starting at $240,000 and up to $408,000 per vehicle. Additionally, Nikola says its customers will benefit from a $40,000 clean commercial vehicle tax credit per vehicle from the federal government due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.