In September 2016, I profiled an up-and-coming trucking entrepreneur whose name probably didn’t immediately resonate.
At the time, serial entrepreneur Trevor Milton was best known as “the guy who said he’s going to build a 2,000-hp tractor.” Fast forward 42 months, and the truck’s power output is a little less eye-popping but a lot more practical – up to 2,000 lb.-ft. torque with up to 1,000 hp.
With partners like Iveco, Ryder, Wabco and Bosch in-tow, in a little less than four years Milton – who founded natural gas fueling system designer dHybrid Systems and sold it to Worthington Industries in 2014 – has delivered on practically everything he said back then, and you can make a case that he’s overdelivered.
For Nikola Motor Company (NMC), a firm that was widely panned as “vaporware” in 2016, credibility has done nothing but pile up.
“There is a unique personality to entrepreneurs that succeed,” Milton said. “When their backs are against the wall, they are more focused and honed in than ever before. That pressure motivates them and brings out the very best in them. That is how I was. When people said that about me, it made me want it more. I enjoy helping people come to terms with their silly accusations and labels. It is part of what feeds my desire to change the world for the better. Very few people ever thought we would be here, and I am glad we are an example for other startups that you shouldn’t listen to them.”
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) late last summer awarded NMC a $1.7 million grant to advance its research into fuel-cell-membrane electrode assembly. Nikola’s hydrogen station partner, NEL Hydrogen of Oslo, Norway, also was awarded $2 million from DOE.
In partnership with Anheuser-Busch and BYD Motors, NMC in November assisted with the first zero-emissions beer delivery in the brewer’s hometown of St. Louis. Nikola’s hydrogen-electric truck picked up the load of beer and delivered it to Anheuser-Busch local wholesaler partner Lohr Distributors, marking the first commercial delivery using a Nikola hydrogen-electric vehicle.
