Nikola’s new brand HYLA will supply and distribute hydrogen

Nikola Corp. unveiled HYLA, its new global hydrogen energy brand that will be an umbrella for the zero-emission truck company’s production and distribution of hydrogen.

Speaking at a company event Wednesday, CEO Michael Lohscheller also presented the final production version of the Nikola Tre fuel-cell electric vehicle, which will hit the market this year. The truck has an expected range of 500 miles with an estimated fueling time of less than 20 minutes, Lohscheller said.

In order to fuel Nikola’s hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks, the company and partners needed to find a way to develop hydrogen supplies and infrastructure to support the demand, President Carey Mendes said, which is where HYLA comes in.

“We set out to build the world’s first Class 8 hydrogen truck; we recognize that that wasn’t good enough,” Mendes said. “In order for that truck to be successful, we would have to consider both the chicken and the egg.”

HYLA’s mission is to secure supplies of clean hydrogen to distribute it to customers at competitive prices, Mendes said. Nikola has integrated a hydrogen fuel-cell truck and the full hydrogen energy infrastructure supply chain under one roof, Lohscheller said.

Nikola aims to develop access to up to 300 metric tons per day of hydrogen by 2026. That will begin at a fuel depot in Arizona, Mendes said.

The first-phase construction of the Phoenix Hydrogen Hub, in Buckeye, Ariz., will be completed in late 2024. The hub will start with 30 metric tons of hydrogen in the first phase, with up to 150 metric tons per day in future phases.

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— Miranda Dunlap