Nikola wins huge waste etruck order
ELECTRIC TRUCK STARTUP/UPSTART NIKOLA SAYS it has secured a milestone order for 2500 electric refuse trucks from Republic Services.
The trucks will be based on the Nikola Tre battery electric tractor units, which are to be built by IVECO – in a partnership announced six months ago.
Republic Services – the second-biggest recycling and refuse collection operator in the United States, with a strong commitment to zero-emissions vehicles – has an option to expand the order to 5000 trucks.
Nikola, which is also championing an ambitious plan to build hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks for long-distance freight haulage – and a network of hydrogen refuelling stations to keep them running – says it will start full production of the electric refuse trucks in 2023. Onroad testing will likely begin in early 2022.
The refuse trucks are expected to have up to 720kWh of energy storage and a range of 250 kilometres or more. The powertrain software will be limited to 1000 horsepower/745 kilowatts, allowing it to outperform current diesel and natural gas competitors.
Nikola founder and executive chairman Trevor Milton says because the huge order allows Nikola to share the same platform, the same batteries, controls, inverters and e-axles as the Tre tractor unit “we can drive the cost down for both programmes…”
Nikola CEO Mark Russell says the order is “a game changer,” in that refuse truck customers have traditionally ordered chassis from truckmakers and bodies from other suppliers: “Nikola has fully integrated the chassis and body, covering both with a single factory warranty. Trucks will include both automated side loaders and front-end loaders — all of which will be zero-emission.”
The order is the biggest so far for electric rubbish trucks in the US – Milton saying that the deal may eventually be worth $US1billion-$2bn.
Nikola has said that it has more than 14,000 orders for its hydrogen fuel cell trucks, which are due to go into production in 2023.
T&D