New Nikola Partnership May See Construction of Hundreds of Fueling Stations

The Phoenix-based Nikola Corporation has announced that it has entered into an agreement that could see the construction of more than 700 hydrogen fueling stations across both Arizona and the country.

Nikola’s partner is the utility company Arizona Public Service. In entering into a partnership with APS, Nikola will be able to buy electricity at a lower price to power its fuel cell vehicles.

Nikola was founded in 2014 and has since introduced a series of zero-emission vehicle concepts, with plans to begin the construction of a new truck factory sometime next year.

In September the company entered into a partnership with General Motors allowing Nikola to use GM’s manufacturing facilities for the production of its Badger truck line.

That partnership, in late November, was subsequently downsized to an agreement that will instead see Nikola and GM working together to integrate hydrogen fuel-cell technology into Nikola’s semi-trucks.

In filing papers with the Arizona Corporation Commission seeking approval of the partnership with Arizona Public Service, the Nikola company said, “We believe approval of this agreement will be an economic and environmental win for all of Arizona.”

Nikola’s larger plan is to combine the cost of its semi-trucks with the cost of hydrogen fuel and basic maintenance as part of a 700,000-mile, or seven-year, lease.
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Although a specific construction schedule for the new stations has not been announced, Nikola has said it would like to see its new station network entirely built out by 2030.

​By Garry Boulard

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