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Nikola Motor Company Reveals Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck With Range of 1,200 Miles (valuewalk.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ValueWalk: Nikola Motor Company just unveiled a huge class 8 truck which will run on hydrogen fuel cells. Nikola claimed that the truck's operational range will be as much as 1,200 miles (1,900 km), and it will be released in 2020. Nikola designed the Nikola One for long-haul transport across a large landmass. The truck will deliver over 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 foot-pounds of torque. Provided these claims are true, the vehicle will provide nearly double the power of the current-gen diesel-powered semis/articulated lorries, notes Ars Technica. The leasing cost of the trucks will include the fuel price, servicing costs and warranty, but exactly how the lease will work is not known now, notes Ars Technica. The company says it has already accepted nearly $3 billion in future orders. A fully-electric drivetrain which gets power from high-density lithium batteries runs the vehicle, and a hydrogen fuel cell charges the batteries on the go. Its reach is presently limited, as hydrogen fueling stations currently exist in only small numbers. This made Nikola decide to construct a network of 364 hydrogen fueling stations across the U.S. and Canada, just like Tesla with its network of Superchargers. Milton claims it will come with a smart dashboard which has the capability of picking the most cost-efficient route for drivers. Also one or two full-size beds will be included inside the vehicle's enormous cab. It will have other luxuries and necessities as well, such as Wi-Fi, a refrigerator, 4G LTE connectivity, freezer, a 40-inch curved 4K TV with Apple TV and a microwave.
OK, we all know Tesla, but what's with all the other alt-fuel vehicle companies using knockoff names? Faraday was bad enough - at least it's named after another electrical pioneer. Nikola didn't even choose a different guy to name their company after.
... one or two full-size beds will be included inside the vehicle's enormous cab. It will have other luxuries and necessities as well, such as Wi-Fi, a refrigerator, 4G LTE connectivity, freezer, a 40-inch curved 4K TV with Apple TV and a microwave.
Sounds like one of those tiny homes. Just take the wheels and engine off of it and scale down the power plant.
but with wheels.
This is nothing but vapor ware. The truck looks nice, but am sure the technology under the hood is not all there. Hyrdrogen is notoriously low in fuel density, and you would need a LOT of it to drive 1200 miles. This just seems like a nice way for a few people to swindle investors and walk away a few years from a failed company.
Although trucks are highly regulated they also happen to be a lot easier to use a platform for this kind of experimentation. For one an extra 1000 pounds isn't going to impact performance (though it will reduce freight capacity). Some truckers tell me just ice and snow can add a couple of thousand pounds to their trucks in the winter. Anyway plenty of room to play around with different drive trains and power systems, which is what this company seem to have done.
I've always been skeptical of hydrogen as a means of of energy storage, but if the numbers are right this is pretty good, for a range of about 800 miles. 1000 hp and 2000 ft-pounds of torque are definitely good numbers for a class 8 truck. The truck I drive sometimes is only 500 hp and 1800 ft-pounds of torque, and pulls 63500 KG GVW (only on flat roads and not fast). So this should easily go up and down mountains. And with no transmission to shift, the power will be smooth and efficient. I'm thinking they've had their prototypes on the road for some time now, so it will be interesting to see how quickly they can really bring this to actual market (start leasing them to real drivers and real companies).
The articles I've read don't talk a lot about how the refueling is done and pouring liquid cryogenic fluids is pretty dangerous. So we shall see. And we don't know much about other details like if the drive train can act as a big engine brake. It's pretty funny how the media reacts to things like this. Instead of focusing on the truly interesting aspects of the truck like the power cell and drive train, they focus on the cab and how it has a nice sleeper with a microwave oven! Hilarious.
Anyway, coming from someone who actually has a CDL and drives trucks on occasion, I'm quite interested to see where this goes.
Does it come with a big bag of amphetamines too?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
These guys have finally designed the world's best 2005 Semi Truck.
Also one or two full-size beds will be included inside the vehicle's enormous cab.
For who? Are they trying to milk the last owner operators? Walmart quibbles with OEMs over 0.1 MPG claims. The second they can, every single Walmart truck is going to be replaced by an autonomous driver, even if it's just between cities. (Given where most Walmarts are located it'll replace 90% of their need for drivers). They spent a lot of time and money designing something that will never get used by time this hits the market.
, the vehicle will provide nearly double the power of the current-gen diesel-powered semis/articulated lorries
And? Truck OEMs are moving to Natural Gas. Locomotives are too.
Everyone thought Warren Buffet was crazy buying a rail company in 2009. Turns out that he owns Northern Natural Gas the largest interstate natural gas pipeline system in the United States. Northern Natural Gas' pipeline system stretches across 11 states, from Southern Texas to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, providing access to five of the major natural gas supply regions in North America. (At which point he starts to sound a bit more like Rockefeller).
10 years ago Natural Gas was a 3rd party add on. Now the engine OEMs are selling it in addition to dual fuel engines (NG/Diesel). That goes for engines for a small tractor up through their largest stationary engines.
Natural gas is:
With a tiny compressor you could come home and 'fill up' at night..
If I was an investor the 2 power sources for vehicles going forward are going to be natural gas & batteries. You cut out a lot of gasoline and diesel refineries. You can run locomotives and semis on natural gas (since batteries alone can't (yet)).
Hydrogen, in 2016, is a non-starter. First you can't just 'get' it. We're quickly getting an EV grid and the Natural Gas 'grid' is already there.
Finally it's not about horsepower. Those Semi truck engines "only" pushing a few hundred HP can easily put out more. The Caterpillar D11 bulldozer only has 850 HP. The reason they're de-tuned is they're designed to do that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a million miles. You can easy tune them up to easily out do the 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 foot-pounds. [And why geeks that aren't into machinery shouldn't just look at specs like they're computers.]
By 2020 this is going to look like a dinosaur.
They get to green wash their natural gas by focusing attention on the vehicles being clean. Meanwhile the hydrogen production must be from natural gas with huge CO2 emissions to be even somewhat efficient. Zero-carbon hydrogen production is insanely inefficient compared to just generating and distributing electricity to battery powered trucks from zero carbon renewable solar/wind/hydro. Refueling times for electric trucks are minutes since you just slide out one pack for the other at the stop or just switch out the trucks at the charging intervals. And then ultimately the railroads are many times more efficient than trucks for most of the long haul anyway
perhaps they should name it Hindenberg II
Sure. Unveiled. But won't be released until 2020. In other words - we have a mockup and need some VC funding. Trust us: we have $3 billion in orders.
Honestly Why ? We all know where its all heading. Long haul transport is a nearly perfect application for autonomous vehicles.
-K
When you win the World Arm-Wrestling Tournament.
Also one or two full-size beds will be included inside the vehicle's enormous cab.- For who?
Have you really no clue about what trucking does or how it works?
Yes trucks will be self-driving in the future. But the truck driver is not just a driver, he is also a GUARD. Do you really not understand what a fantastic target fully automated trucks would be, when they would obviously be programmed to stop for any blockage in the road?
As for the gas angle, natural gas is OK but has nothing on Hydrogen, which will be the mass replacement for the gasoline engine.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It's basically a diesel-electric train, only with ZOMG Hydrogen because it's cool. Running a small, efficient diesel at constant speed and high output as the APU to provide the power gives you the benefits of both, and the great energy density of petroleum.
Because the world isn't waiting for AI
Will the Nikola hydrogen charging stations be compatible with the Toyota Mirai?
There could be some pretty strong synergies there.
I couldn't see any mention in the article, but I'm guessing the stated range is when it isn't loaded, or only very lightly loaded. I wonder how much that would drop when pulling 120 tonnes in 3 trailers? That's a pretty standard configuration here in Australia.
Some marketing idiot is trying to revise history and blow smoke up the Industries ass with people who've been using diesel engines from Catepillar and Cummins having excceeded those levels for the last decade. Hell they were already beginning to exceed those numbers 20 years ago
Hydrogen, in 2016, is a non-starter. First you can't just 'get' it.
Which is why a point-to-point delivery system such as a large truck is the right vehicle to start with. You don't need thousands of refueling stations, just a few at the major truck terminals.
Also one or two full-size beds will be included inside the vehicle's enormous cab
The same enormous cab that makes it unable to legally pull a standard-sized trailer in most of the world.
The medium long run is caravans of trucks, with a few drivers, probably three, for a a 24hour driving shift and one to sit behind with a disabled truck if part of the caravan is damaged.
There's still likely going to be value to a human overseeing millions of dollars if goods.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
"has the capability of picking the most cost-efficient route for drivers."
As a 5 year tour bus driver and a 20 year semi-truck driver, I never needed anything more than a map to determine this for myself.