Nikola One: New Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks With 1200 Mile Range Unveiled, Expected By 2020 [Video]

Nikola Motors Company, USA have announced a class 8 truck (the biggest ones for commercial purposes) powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. They claim that these trucks, dubbed Nikola One, will have an operational range of 1200 miles (approximately 1900 kilometers). The company aims to release the vehicles in the year 2020.

With the change in political influences, the energy and fossil fuel sector will see massive changes in the United States. However, leaders in the clean fuel domain have started coming up with brilliant and environmentally safe innovations.

Nikola One Truck-

Nikola One, as it has been named by Nikola Motors, will be designed for long haul purposes of transporting goods across lands. In a single tank of fuel, it can cover anywhere between 800 to 1200 miles. The truck will deliver 1000 horsepower and 2000 foot-pounds of engine torque.

For reference, that is almost double the power offered by the current versions of diesel-powered lorries and trucks in the same segment! The Nikola One truck runs on a fully electric drivetrain and is supported by lithium batteries. The batteries are continuously charged by a hydrogen fuel cell. Currently, one big roadblock in this brilliant and clean upgrade is that there are not many hydrogen fueling stations around. The cell needs to be recharged after exerting their limits. For this reason, Nikola is currently concentrating on building a high functioning and reliable network of 364 fuelling stations all across the United States and Canada. Work on the network will start in 2018.

The company has been named after the Serbian-American scientist, Nikola Tesla. The company follows similar clean fuel principle of leading name, Tesla. The price of the fuel will be included in the lease cost of the trucks. Similarly, servicing and warranty will also be a part of the lease. However, Nikola Motors has not specified the actual cost of lease of the trucks. However, they stated that they have received reservations worth "3 billion dollars"!

Nikola One Specs & Features-

The Nikola One was launched in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nikola's founder and CEO Trevor Milton described the Nikola One as "the most advanced semi-truck ever built."

The truck will also include a smart dashboard which will chart cost efficient routes for drivers. The trucks will also have full-size beds with high-performance TVs, wifi connectivity along with LTE connections. Last but not the least, they will come equipped with a refrigeratory, freezer, a microwave!

The initial trucks are to be built by industry giant Fitzgerald. Milton hopes to develop an independent production facility in the coming years. Nikola Motors will be competing in this segment with Tesla Motors who have announced similar ambitions.

Stay tuned to SWR for more updates and latest news on Nikola One Trucks.

Do you think hydrogen fuel cells is the demand of the future? Keep watching this space for more updates!