Start-up truck maker says it is the first to engineer a 100 per cent zero emissions truck
The Nikola Motor Company says it has achieved a zero emissions vehicle with its Nikola One heavy-duty truck due for launch later this year.
“Nikola has engineered the holy grail of the trucking industry,” founder and CEO Trevor Milton says.
“We knew our emissions would be low, but to have the ability to achieve true zero emissions is revolutionary for the worldwide trucking industry.”
Juxtaposing his yet-to-be-released prototype against recent launches from manufacturing heavyweights, Milton says the Nikola One will be able to “haul 80,000 pounds (36.3 tonne) more than 1,000 miles (1,606km) and do it without stopping”.
“While other companies have recently announced battery-powered semi-trucks, those trucks are restricted to a range of only a couple hundred miles and four to eight hours of charging between stops,” he says.
“The Nikola One requires only 15 minutes of downtime before heading out for the next 1,000 miles.”
The process of reaching the emissions milestone has required “gutsy engineering and product execution”, Milton says, and “a specific zero emission refinement process of fuel”.
“A traditional manufacturer would have to partner with an oil company, environmental group, electric vehicle engineering firm, a broad spectrum of suppliers and a world-class consulting firm to have figured it out,” he says.
“At Nikola, all of our development and talent is under one roof.”
Funded by more than US$2.3 billion (A$3.1 billion) in truck reservations – powered by a leasing program offering a million miles (1.6 million km) worth of fuel with every truck sale – Nikola is set to unveil a prototype vehicle in the US in December.
The company says with average fuel costs nearing US$400,000 (A$530,000) and maintenance costs reaching US$100,000 (A$132,690) over the first one million miles, its US$4,000 (A$5,300) to US$5,000 (A$6,600) per month leasing deal has already attracted 7,000 vehicle deposits.
The backing has also allowed it to expand its manufacturing base, with it initiating “the first steps to manufacture emission-free power plants that range from 50 kilowatts to 50 megawatts”.
It says the technology would cut “power generation costs in half.”
“Nikola believes this technology not only has the ability to transform America’s roadways, but how the world will migrate towards zero-emission energy going forward.”