Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2023 - 33

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT
Mid-Atlantic). Twenty of the 60 hydrogen
refueling stations are planned for
California. Until a widespread hydrogen
refueling infrastructure is in place, Nikola
intends to dispense hydrogen via 700bar
mobile fuelers. " We think the mobile
fuelers are a real competitive advantage
for us, " Mendes said.
Trucks and fuel-cell power modules
Coupled with Nikola's hydrogen tube trailer with
960-kg capacity, Nikola's mobile fueler can refuel trucks back-to-back.
" We learn something every day, so
having a pioneering mindset is important, "
Lohscheller stressed.
Engineering the fuel-cell truck
Innovative thinking worked well for the
development of Nikola's BEV as well as
the company's soon-to-market FCEV.
Nikola has several patents and pending
patents addressing the FCEV, including
the thermal-management system, hydrogen
fueling and diagnostics, hydrogen
fuel storage and the air management
for the fuel-cell power module.
Nikola's FCEV has five 700-bar
(10,150-psi) hydrogen tanks for a total
of 70 kg (154 lbs.) of usable hydrogen.
The net power output is up to 200 kW
(268 hp). For engineers, designing and
integrating the truck's thermal system
was not a simple task. That's because
there is limited real estate for radiators
and a fuel cell typically rejects more
heat than does a diesel engine.
A fuel cell also operates at slightly lower
temperatures, according to Christian
Appel, global chief engineer for the fuel
cell truck. " Nikola overcame this engineering
challenge with a sophisticated thermal-system
design that combines multiple
dedicated cooling loops depending
on the operating mode, " he said.
With a range of up to 500 miles (805
km), Nikola's Tre FCEV has an estimated
refueling time of approximately 20 minutes.
In early 2023, Nikola celebrated
the first 100 orders for its fuel-cell truck.
Complementing that milestone was
Nikola's January 2023 announcement of
its HYLA (first two letters of hydrogen,
last two letters of Nikola) brand.
According to Carey Mendes, president
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
June 2023 33
of Nikola Energy, the company anticipates
having 60 HYLA hydrogen refueling
stations in the U.S. and Canada by
2026. Those refueling stations would
supply 300 tons of hydrogen daily,
which translates to roughly 7,500 fuelcell
trucks a day.
Mendes said that hydrogen production
hubs are planned in geographic regions
addressing Western Canada and the U.S.
(West Coast, Gulf Coast, Midwest and
for the FCEV - as well as battery modules
and packs for the BEV - will be
assembled at Nikola's Coolidge, Arizona,
manufacturing facility at launch. " Our
factory is flexible, so we can produce
BEV or fuel-cell electric trucks on one or
both lines, " Lohscheller said.
The Arizona manufacturing facility
has capacity to produce 20,000 trucks
annually. " We want to grow this stepby-step,
so this is not overnight. This
will take time, " Lohscheller added. For
the European market, trucks will be assembled
in Ulm, Germany.
Kami Buchholz
NIKOLA
http://info.hotims.com/84503-712
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2023

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