Nikola One achieves zero emissions

Working electric truck prototype tested in the US and manufacturer is offering 1.6 million kms worth of free fuel!

Nikola (pronounced Neek-oh-la) Motor Company's R&D team has achieved 100 per cent zero emissions on the Nikola One commercial class 8 truck during testing in Slat Lake City, Utah.

"While other companies have recently announced battery-powered semi-trucks, those trucks are restricted to a range of only a couple hundred miles and four to eight hours of charging between stops," said Founder and CEO Trevor Milton. "Nikola has engineered the holy grail of the trucking industry. We are not aware of any zero emission truck in the world that can haul 80,000 pounds (36 tonnes) more than 1000 miles (1600km) and do it without stopping. The Nikola One requires only 15 minutes of downtime before heading out for the next 1000 miles."

When asked why no one had accomplished this before, Milton said: "It requires a specific zero emission refinement process of fuel and gutsy engineering and product execution. A traditional manufacturer would have to partner with an oil company, environmental group, electric vehicle engineering firm, a broad spectrum of suppliers and a world-class consulting firm to have figured it out. At Nikola, all of our development and talent is under one roof," said Milton.

"We knew our emissions would be low, but to have the ability to achieve true zero emissions is revolutionary for the worldwide trucking industry," Milton added.

Two months ago, Nikola announced more than $2.3 billion in reservations, totaling more than 7000 truck reservations with deposits.

The Nikola One truck leasing program costs $4000 to $5000 per month, depending on which truck configuration and options the customer chooses.

The first one million miles (1.6 million kilometres) of fuel under the lease is included with each truck sale, potentially offsetting 100 per cent of the monthly cost. An average diesel burns approximately $400,000 in fuel and can rack up over $100,000 in maintenance costs over 1,000,000 miles.

The company says that these costs are eliminated with the Nikola One lease. Now companies can have a zero emission truck with a return on their investment in the first month.

Nikola says that the company can offer free fuel as the truck's battery pack is charged by using a turbine using compressed natural gas (CNG), and the company has its own gas wells from which it can extract millions of litres of gas per day. They will then transform the gas into a liquid (LNG) and transport it to filling stations across the country where it will be distributed in CNG form to the Nikola trucks.

Fuelling the trucks will take around 15 minutes, we're told.

Nikola reckons it will launch its first truck to the public on December 2 this year and the free fuel offer will be available to the first 25,000 owners.

In addition to the zero emission semi-truck, Nikola has initiated the first steps to manufacture emission-free power plants that range from 50 kilowatts to 50 megawatts, cutting power generation costs in half. Nikola believes this technology not only has the ability to transform America's roadways, but how the world will migrate towards zero-emission energy going forward.

For complete product details on the Nikola One, click

here.

Nikola One achieves zero emissions

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