Nikola Exec Suggests Impact on Global Hydrogen Regulations and Standards

Scenario Claudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X

With sales of hydrogen fuel cell trucks soaring, Arizona-based startup Nikola believes that despite the challenges that regulatory barriers may pose, the company is confident in its impact.

In a new interview with the Future Says podcast, Pedro Garcia, Nikola’s global director of supply chain management, predicted that additional safety regulations will be implemented, forcing the entire industry to adapt and adjust.

“There are other areas related to hydrogen, in terms of buildings, that require some regulations regarding the movement of hydrogen trucks in them,” he said.

The company announced earlier today that it sold 72 units of its Class 8 Nikola hydrogen fuel cell trucks in the second quarter of the year. After selling 40 units in the first quarter, hydrogen truck sales totaled 112 units in the first half of the year.

Nikola is actively involved in shaping these regulations. “At Nikola, we have developed, in many cases, hydrogen standards for the world. We have people in our engineering organization who actually sit on the boards of those hydrogen standards around the world,” Garcia said.

In response to the question, “Does the hydrogen platform have any drawbacks?” Garcia noted that developing the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen will take time.

“I think infrastructure is one of them because it will take longer to implement,” he explained, emphasizing that setting up hydrogen fueling stations and related infrastructure is a major hurdle the industry needs to overcome to achieve widespread adoption of hydrogen vehicles.

Garcia emphasized that the company intends to maximize its production capacity and expand its market reach, especially for battery electric vehicles. “We want to fill our production capacity and build out our hydrogen infrastructure,” Garcia concluded.

In a new interview on the “Cleared Hot” podcast, Trevor Milton, founder and former CEO of Nikola, broke his silence for the first time since leaving the company.

In an in-depth interview that lasted over two and a half hours, the former CEO spoke about his legal battles, the pressures of running a public company and the personal challenges he had to face during his tenure.

Last Thursday, Nikola announced that Walmart Canada has integrated the first Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric truck into its fleet. Walmart Canada is the first retail fleet in North America to operate a hydrogen fuel cell truck.

Earlier this week, the company announced that its hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) had combined to surpass 2.5 million miles driven in North America.

On social media platform X, Nikola stated, “We are thrilled to support Walmart Canada as the first major retailer in Canada to introduce a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck to its fleet. We can’t wait to see what the future holds. Thank you, Walmart Canada, for taking us on a journey to power your fleet with an alternative energy source.”

Scenario Claudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X

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