Nikola, Iveco join forces to develop & commercialize H2 fuel cell trucks
CNH Industrial N.V. announced a strategic and exclusive partnership with Nikola Corporation, based in Phoenix, Arizona, to accelerate industry transformation towards emission neutrality of Class 8 trucks in North America and Europe through the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell technology. Nikola’s zero-emission Heavy Duty Trucks, powered by proprietary hydrogen fuel cell and battery technology, will be the first-to-production.
CNH Industrial will take a $250 million strategic stake in Nikola as the lead Series D investor, comprising $100 million cash and $150 million in services, such as product development, manufacturing engineering, and other technical assistance, as well as supply of certain key components to accelerate the production timeline of the Nikola TWO and Nikola TRE.
IVECO and FPT Industrial will assist in engineering and manufacturing expertise to industrialize Nikola’s fuel cell trucks. The following vehicles will benefit from this partnership: the Nikola ONE, a NAFTA-compliant Class 8 sleeper truck; the Nikola TWO, a NAFTA-compliant Class 8 day-cab truck; and the Nikola TRE, a European compliant cab-over heavy-duty truck.
Nikola will contribute technologies for a European Joint Venture with CNH Industrial that will include class-leading fuel-cell expertise, e-axles, inverters, independent suspension, on-board hydrogen fuel storage, over-the-air software update functionality, infotainment, vehicle controls, vehicle-to-station communication protocols, power electronics, and access to a hydrogen fueling network.
Strategic near-term project milestones include the industrialization of the Nikola TWO fuel cell- powered Class 8 truck for the North American market, as well as the integration of IVECO S-Way truck technology into the battery-electric powered Nikola TRE cab-over model for both the North American and European markets.
“The increasing focus on the recognition that there needs to be fundamental reductions in automotive emissions is driving our industry to rapidly seek advanced technological solutions. IVECO is now ideally placed to offer customers an even wider range of transport solutions including natural gas, electric and fuel cell powered vehicles,” said Hubertus Mühlhäuser, CEO, CNH Industrial.
“The time has come to finally provide a zero-emission solution to the heavy-duty truck market. While other OEMs believe zero-emission solutions cannot happen in the timeframe regulators have mandated, Nikola, FPT Industrial and IVECO are proving that these timelines are not unreasonable,” said Trevor Milton, CEO, Nikola Corporation. “Nikola has the technology but needs a partner with a European network to achieve it in a timely manner. With CNH Industrial’s investment and partnership, we can now bring zero-emission trucks to Europe.”
Source: CNH Industrial
