The comeback story of Nikola Corp., the e-mobility startup barely on the cusp of survival little more than a year ago, is picking up speed as the company gains customers and new funding lifeblood via grants and contracts.
Within days of announcing a new 13-truck supply deal with logistics firm J.B. Hunt, Nikola is now strengthened fiscally with nearly $58 million in grants and funds to develop hydrogen fueling stations under the HYLA brand across California.
Phoenix-based Nikola is pivoting from its original intent on manufacturing battery-electric Class 8 trucks to develop more hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Although H2 infrastructure on the retail level is still in its infancy, those types of zero-emissions vehicles are known to have longer range and shorter refueling times.
Among the awards include the California Transportation Commission’s $41.9 million grant under the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program. This will help finance H2 refueling along the state’s freight corridors within the South Coast, San Diego County, and Mojave Desert air quality management districts (AQMD).
Hydrogen does not contain carbon in its chain and thus does not emit carbon dioxide when combusted. Fuel cells take gases and use an electro-chemical process to convert the energy to electricity.
Other recent awards to Nikola include $7 million from the SacMetro Air Quality Management District, $3.3 million from the EnergIIZE West Sacramento California Energy Commission, $1.6 million from Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, and $4.4 million from the South Coast AQMD.
"The California grant awards and government funding demonstrate the strong support for the Nikola hydrogen infrastructure brand HYLA's mission of establishing a comprehensive zero-emission transportation solution to help fleets achieve climate goals and improve air quality in the most impacted communities. We continue to be grateful for the leadership demonstrated by California agencies in supporting the buildout of a zero-emissions ecosystem," said Carey Mendes, president, Nikola Energy. "Building an integrated, hydrogen ecosystem to support hydrogen fuel cell electric truck deployment and creating a scalable energy business, is a top priority for us."
Earlier this year, Nikola announced its pivot to reprioritize around hydrogen fuel-cell truck manufacturing and H2 refueling under the HYLA brand. The repurposing, and recent good news with supply deals for J.B. Hunt, BayoTech and Richter, offset the company’s still anemic revenue picture with greater hope for the future.
A joint development agreement with Voltera aims at developing up to 50 of the HYLA-branded H2 refueling stations throughout North America over the next five years.
Nikola was founded years ago by a group including Trevor Milton, who hyped the startup’s prospects through multiple media efforts and promises to investors. In 2020, a federal grand jury charged him with criminal securities fraud for lying about various aspects of the business, hype which pushed Nikola’s market capitalization higher than even historic automaker Ford.
The company itself was not included in the indictment. Two years later, Milton was convicted in federal court on multiple counts.
