A Zero-Emissions Beer Run

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November 27, 2019 Vol. 16 No. 24

Just a couple of days after Nikola announced a wildly superior battery technology that’s said to double electric-vehicle range, Anheuser-Busch made the first-ever commercial delivery for a hydrogen-electric tractor from Nikola Motor Company. It pulled a beer trailer from the local Anheuser-Busch brewery to a distributor which in turn delivered the beer to the Enterprise Center, home of the St. Louis Blues, on a BYD 8TT electric truck. It was the brewer’s first zero-emission beer delivery.

Last year, Anheuser-Busch placed an order for up to 800 hydrogen-electric powered semi-trucks from Nikola. The partnership will help the brewer transition its entire long-haul dedicated fleet to zero-emission vehicles.

“As the first commercial delivery of freight with our hydrogen-electric truck, this is an exciting time for both Nikola and Anheuser-Busch. This milestone will become an example for all other OEM’s to move away from diesel trucks and towards zero-emission vehicles,” said Trevor Milton, Nikola’s chief executive officer.  “We look forward to helping the Anheuser-Busch team achieve their sustainability goals… We are now preparing production vehicles for Anheuser-Busch and plan on delivering the trucks as fast as possible.”

I’m not in the least sure what “as fast as possible” actually means, and there are no clues to be had.

Anheuser-Busch also announced a pilot project with BYD Auto last month to improve the sustainability of its fleet at four of its distribution facilities across southern California. The 21 BYD second-generation 8TT electric trucks, as well as a 958.5 kW solar array to charge the vehicles, are to be implemented before this year is done. It will be the largest Class 8 electric truck deployment in North America.

 

NIKOLA’S BATTERY PROMISE

Nikola Corporation has announced details of what sounds like a revolutionary development, saying its new battery technology could increase the range of current EV passenger cars from 300 up to 600 miles with little or no increase to battery size and weight. The technology is also designed to operate in existing vehicle conditions, and cycling the cells over 2000 times has apparently shown acceptable end-of-life performance. It has a record energy density of 1100 watt-hours per kg.

Nikola’s new cell technology is said to be environmentally friendly and easy to recycle. While conventional lithium-ion cells contain elements that are toxic and expensive, the new battery promises to have a positive impact on the earth’s resources, landfills, and recycling plants.

This month, Nikola entered into a letter of intent to acquire a world-class battery engineering team to help bring the new battery to pre-production. Through this acquisition, Nikola will add 15 PhDs and five master’s degree team members. Additional details of the acquisition will not be disclosed until Nikola World 2020, likely to happen next fall. A charging and discharging demonstration will happen then.

“This is the biggest advancement we have seen in the battery world,” said CEO Trevor Milton.  “We are not talking about small improvements; we are talking about doubling your cell phone battery capacity. We are talking about doubling the range of BEVs and hydrogen-electric vehicles around the world.”

“Nikola is in discussions with customers for truck orders that could fill production slots for more than 10 years and propel Nikola to become the top truck manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue. Now the question is why not share it with the world?” said Milton.

Other miscellaneous claims for the new battery include:

* Nikola’s battery electric trucks could now drive 800 miles fully loaded between charges

* Nikola’s hydrogen-electric fuel cell trucks could surpass 1000 miles between stops and top off in 15 minutes

* Nikola trucks could weigh 2268 kg or 5000 lb less than the competition if the same battery size is kept

* 40% reduction in weight compared to lithium-ion cells

* 50% material cost reduction per kWh compared to lithium-ion batteries

Due to the impact this technology will have on society and emissions, Nikola has taken an unprecedented position to share the intellectual property (IP) with other OEMs, even competitors, that contribute to the Nikola IP license and new consortium. If you’re in that group, as OEMs or other partners, you can email batteries@nikolamotor.com for more information.

Now, that’s unique.

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Rolf Lockwood is editor emeritus of Today's Trucking and a regular contributor to Trucknews.com.