Nikola Plans to Launch Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks in Promising Canadian Market by Next Year

Nikola is looking to expand into Canada as it sees the country as one of the most promising global markets for its trucks. The company aims to have its first trucks on the road in Canada next year. Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Nikola Corporation, stated that “It’s a very big market. Similar to Europe. There is a lot of support and incentive money, but more importantly an understanding and mindset that decarbonization needs to happen.”

The manufacturer has already partnered with the Alberta Motor Transport Association to demonstrate its technology in Alberta and with Calgary-based TC Energy to bring large-scale hydrogen fueling stations to the province. TC Energy has identified a 140-acre plot in Crossfield, Alta., for construction of the first hydrogen fueling site it will build with Nikola’s Hyla subsidiary, which would produce about 60 tons of hydrogen per day, with capacity to ramp up to 150 tons in the future.

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Nikola not only plans to bring its truck to Canada but also the hydrogen fueling network needed to support those vehicles. Lohscheller stated that the infrastructure is probably more important than the truck itself, and the company is, in fact, an energy company with a truck division once everything is set up. Hydrogen fuel can be produced cost-effectively where there’s cheap energy and an abundance of water, which Canada has to offer.

Nikola’s fuel cell trucks will have a range of about 500 miles (800 km) between fueling. Until there are enough Nikola hydrogen-fueled trucks to support a permanent fueling station, mobile fuelers can be used to keep the trucks running. The first of those mobile fueling sites should reach Alberta later this year, the company says.

Lohscheller sees parallels between Canada and Germany in how the two nations view the promise of hydrogen as a way to wean the transportation industry off diesel. He said, “I see Nikola’s key markets as the U.S. – West Coast and East Coast primarily – and Canada and Europe and in Europe, primarily Germany. So Canada is really important to us. In Canada, there’s great interest in the technology, the fuel stacks and how the whole ecosystem works. There’s great interest in decarbonization and the hydrogen story.”

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Nikola’s fuel cell trucks have been well received by fleets in Alberta during demonstrations there. “The truck is great. It has a few things nobody else has. The cabin is very spacious, it’s very quiet,” Lohscheller noted.