Nikola Corp. has signed with the Bosch Group of companies for Nikola Class 7 and 8 fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV), which will enable Nikola to build the Bosch fuel-cell power modules at its Arizona facility.
The agreements will allow the adaptation of the fuel-cell power modules for the Nikola Tre and US Nikola Two fuel-cell applications. Under the agreements, Bosch will supply both fully assembled fuel-cell power modules as well as major components to Nikola, including the fuel-cell stack, for Nikola to assemble at its manufacturing facility in Coolidge. The parties will work together for sourcing of remaining components for the assemblies.
Nikola and Bosch have defined together a scalable and modular approach for the Nikola Tre and Two truck applications based upon use of multiple fuel-cell power modules utilizing the Bosch heavy-duty commercial vehicle fuel-cell stack. The fuel-cell power modules are expected to launch in 2023, with the first application being the Class 8 regional-haul Nikola Tre FCEV.
Nikola anticipates that the overall vehicle design will result in a range of up to approximately 500 miles. Nikola plans to further expand capacity for use in the Class 8 long-haul Nikola Two FCEV with an anticipated range of up to approximately 900 miles.
The vehicles are planned to utilize common fuel-cell power modules in 200 kW and 300 kW configurations. The fuel-cell power modules and components are being designed and validated for the demands of commercial vehicle power. The Nikola Tre FCEV will also be launched in the EU, utilizing the same fuel-cell power modules supporting vehicle manufacturing planned at Nikola’s joint venture with IVECO in Ulm, Germany.
“This announcement is the result of a multi-year working relationship with Bosch,” says Nikola CEO Mark Russell. “We will be collaborating with Bosch to develop and assemble fuel-cell power modules specifically for our applications at the same Coolidge, Arizona facility where we manufacture our Nikola vehicles, utilizing major components from the Bosch global manufacturing network.”
Nikola plans to expand the Coolidge manufacturing facility by 50,000 sq. ft. and up to 50 additional manufacturing jobs to accommodate initial fuel-cell power module assembly by 2023, in support of the initial ramp-up of the Nikola Tre FCEV. Subsequent expansions are planned to support the ramp-up of Nikola’s Tre and Two FCEVs in the U.S. Nikola is also expanding engineering and testing facilities to support the fuel-cell and vehicle validation and testing at Nikola’s Phoenix headquarters.
Nikola is currently building and testing Tre FCEV alpha vehicles utilizing the fuel-cell power modules from the agreements and plans to begin road testing by the end of 2021 in support of customer pilot tests.