Nikola set to showcase hydrogen truck at 3-day event next year

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Updated Aug 28, 2018
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Nikola Motor Company’s (NMC) hydrogen electric semi-truck will take centerstage early next year as the cornerstone of a three-day event the company will use to showcase its capabilities and technologies.

“Nikola World” is set for mid-April 2019 in Phoenix, the city that serves as the company’s headquarters. The first two days, April 16 and 17, are invitation-only for Nikola reservation holders, suppliers, media and investors. The final day, April 18, will be open to the public.

A pre-production version of the company’s hydrogen-electric Nikola Two – a truck NMC founder and CEO Trevor Milton has dubbed “the most advanced production semi-truck the world has ever seen” – will share day one with the unveiling of a 2.3 megawatt hydrogen station and the Nikola NZT 4X4. Demonstration drives and hydrogen filling will take place the next day. On April 18, the public is invited to see the zero-emission trucks and NZT in action.

“This is why we named it Nikola World. We want to create a better place to live where emissions are eliminated,” Milton adds. “The largest fleets and customers in the world will attend this event and they will see what no other OEM could deliver – a production-ready, zero emission semi-truck, with over 1,000-mile range, 20 percent less operating costs per mile, more horsepower, torque and safety features than any other diesel ever built, and a startup did it. Remember that.”

Registration to the free event will open online Dec. 3.

To date, the company says it has nearly $11 billion dollars in pre-order reservations. Ryder System and Thompson Caterpillar will be on site at the event to work with fleets and customers interested in finalizing orders.

By 2028, Nikola says it plans to have more than 700 hydrogen stations across the U.S. and Canada, with each station capable of producing up to 8,000 kgs of hydrogen daily.

Jason Cannon has written about trucking and transportation for more than a decade and serves as Chief Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. A Class A CDL holder, Jason is a graduate of the Porsche Sport Driving School, an honorary Duckmaster at The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee, and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Reach him at [email protected]