Nikola Corporation announced the expansion of its presence in Alberta, Canada, with the sale of a Nikola Tre battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and a Nikola Tre H₂ fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) to the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA). AMTA is combining this purchase with refueling support, via access to Nikola’s innovative H₂ mobile fueler.

AMTA will incorporate the new heavy-duty vehicles into its H₂ Commercial Vehicle Demonstrations Project. This first-of-its-kind project in Canada officially launched on February 10, 2023, and offers Alberta carriers the opportunity to use and test Class 8 vehicles that operate with H₂ fuel within their unique operations. These trials will look at the performance of H₂-fueled vehicles on Alberta roads, payloads, and weather conditions, while addressing challenges around fuel cell reliability, infrastructure, and vehicle cost and maintenance. Learn more at transformingtransportation.ca.

“AMTA is a leader in helping Canada reach its 2050 net-zero goals and supports the widespread adoption of zero-emissions commercial vehicles,” said Doug Paisley, board chair, AMTA. “We are excited to put these Nikola trucks to work in Alberta and begin collecting performance data, raising awareness to this advanced technology, promoting early adoption, and creating industry confidence in such an innovative technology. AMTA works closely with the industry and its many partners to identify and research opportunities and propose and implement data-driven solutions that meet the needs and challenges of our industry.”

This week’s anticipated delivery of the Nikola Tre BEV, and the expected delivery of the Nikola Tre FCEV by the end of 2023, are critical first steps in selling hundreds of trucks in Alberta, which is a major new market for Nikola and will make a significant impact considering the implementation of one heavy-duty zero-emission truck enables the replacement of one heavy-duty diesel truck. In annual CO₂ emissions, this equates to removing 23 passenger cars from the road annually, based on U.S. EPA data.

“Canada is moving fast to decarbonize the transportation sector by removing diesel trucks from the road to help the environment,” said Michael Lohscheller, President and CEO, Nikola Corporation. “We want Nikola to be in lockstep with leaders like AMTA to accelerate these important market adoption and regulatory policies.”

“Canada is a global climate leader with bold targets for emission reductions,” said Carey Mendes, President, Nikola Energy. “Nikola’s zero-emissions trucks and its plans for building H₂ infrastructure are aligned with Canada’s goals and underpins a fair share our publicly announced plans for 300 metric-tons of H2 supply, with 60 H₂ stations planned for across North America by 2026. This partnership is just the beginning of bringing hundreds of FCEVs to Alberta and Canada.”

AMTA’s order will be used to help promote further adoption of Nikola’s zero-emissions trucks for a wide variety of trucking companies in Canada. Nikola will support the promotion of these trucks with a Nikola H2 mobile fueler to enable early adoption as well as geographic expansion across Canada by providing the support needed to get on the road quickly and seamlessly.

The Nikola Tre BEV has a range of up to 530 km, one of the longest of the battery-electric zero-emission Class 8 tractors. The Tre’s cabover design is ideal for metro-regional applications because it has improved visibility and maneuverability, along with a smooth and quiet ride free of the smell of diesel emissions.

With a range of up to 800 km and an estimated fueling time of 20 minutes (depending on the characteristics of the H₂ fueling location, including fueling hardware and software protocol, fuel quantity, and fueling conditions), the Nikola Tre FCEV is expected to have among the longest range of all commercially available zero tailpipe emission Class 8 trucks while realizing weight savings when compared to BEV Class 8 trucks with similar range. The Tre FCEV is well-suited for a variety of applications ranging from drayage and intermodal to metro-regional truckload and less than truckload, to certain specialized hauling use cases.