Nikola Motors Company, an Arizona startup well known for its electric semi-trucks and focus on fuel cell technology, is now expanding its vehicle types to include a heavy-duty electric pickup truck.
Trevor Milton, Nikola Motors CEO, and executive chairman said:
Nikola has billions’ worth of technology in our semi-truck program, so why not build it into a pickup truck? I have been working on this pickup program for years and believe the market is now ready for something that can handle a full day’s worth of work without running out of energy. This electric truck can be used for work, weekend getaways, towing, off-roading, or to hit the ski slopes without performance loss. No other electric pickup can operate in these temperatures and conditions (negative 20-degree Fahrenheit climate).
The Badger, as it is called, is a hydrogen fuel cell electric pickup truck that was designed to compete with electric vehicles such as the Ford F-150, Tesla’s Cybertruck, and GMC’s Hummer EV, but not Rivian.
Milton told TechCrunch:
We went directly after the Ford F-150 market and it’ll be a direct competitor to the Tesla Cybertruck as well. The Rivian is a small truck like a Toyota Tacoma and will not compete in the construction world nor the Ford F-150, bigger pickup market that’s focused on home businesses, construction, and things like that. The Rivian is more of a consumer model that is used for outdoor recreational activities.
He also announced in a tweet that you could pre-order the new vehicle as of June 29th, 2020 onward. Those who reserve their Badger now will receive their new pickups and Nikola World 2020 tickets before anyone else. The event will showcase the electric truck for the first time.
https://twitter.com/nikolatrevor/status/1269998899072323585?s=20
And if you’re concerned about where you’ll get your hydrogen gas, don’t be. The company announced that it is already planning out a hydrogen station infrastructure throughout North America that involves 700 new fueling stations. It has secured the locations for the first stations and will announce them at some point this year.
Furthermore, the automaker has invested in more than $30 million worth of electrolysis equipment, enough to produce over 40,000 kilograms (approximately 44 tons) of hydrogen daily. The first five fueling stations will be supplied with eight tons of hydrogen every day from this production.
Milton said:
We are building the largest hydrogen network in the world and I couldn’t be prouder to have Nel part of it. These electrolyzers will support five heavy-duty hydrogen stations which will cover multiple states and trucking routes. The future of clean transportation is here, and fleets are lining up to be part of the transition with Nikola.
But if you’re still not sold on the idea of driving a hydrogen fuel cell pickup, then there’s always the option to get it as a purely battery-electric vehicle. However, getting the upgraded truck with the fuel cell system gives you double the range – 600 miles compared to just 300 with the battery alone.
Some other impressive specs include 906 peak horsepower and 980 pound-feet of torque – meaning it can start on a 50% incline hill without any stalling. And it’ll do 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds thanks to a supercapacitor-based launch system.
The Badger is expected to go into production in 2022.
