Voltera Will Help Nikola's HYLA Brand Build 50 Hydrogen Refueling Stations

Five years from now will be 2028, and HYLA should already have 60 stations two years earlier. If we divide the number of stations for an even distribution over these five years, Voltera and Nikola will build ten per year. In 2026, they should only have made 30 stations – or half of the 60 stations Nikola plans to have by then.

Another curious aspect of the deal is that "Voltera will site, build, own, and operate the strategically located, fit-for-purpose hydrogen refueling stations, and Nikola will supply the hydrogen fuel and provide technical expertise." However, the hydrogen stations will have the HYLA branding. It seems that HYLA will work as a hydrogen-fueling franchising business and that Voltera will be its first franchisee.

That raises several questions. If Voltera will own and operate around 30 HYLA stations by 2026, who will have the other 30 Nikola intends to open until then? If HYLA becomes a franchisor, it can theoretically open many more hydrogen stations than the 60 it plans to have until 2026. Why doesn't it expand the network due to the still limited demand? If Voltera will have 30 of the 60 stations HYLA plans to have until 2026, does it mean that Nikola will have 80 stations by 2028? I'll ask the company about all that.

The good news for everyone hoping to have an FCEV or already driving one is that the HYLA hydrogen stations will be the "largest North American open network of commercial hydrogen refueling stations." In other words, anyone willing to fill up their hydrogen tanks will be able to stop at an HYLA station and top up. Places served by these stations will have incentives to sell FCEV vehicles, which means that Toyota and Hyundai may decide to sell the Mirai and the NEXO in more states. Even Riversimple could benefit from that if it is willing to expand into the American market.

Nikola will take care of part of that demand. The company has sold 75 Tre FCEV trucks to Plug Power, 15 to Biagi Bros and announced AJR Trucking will buy 50 more units. It makes perfect sense that the hydrogen stations will focus on these customers and their needs, such as their primary routes outside California. Arizona should be one of the first states to get these non-Californian stations. Biagi Bros has truck terminals in Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida, which makes these states strong candidates to receive other stations.

Consider the around 3,000 miles to cross the US from San Francisco to New York, and that a full hydrogen tank can give a Nikola Tre FCEV 500 miles of range. For one of these trucks to make this trip, only six hydrogen stations would be necessary along the I-80. Make it ten, just to add a safety margin there, and you still have only one-sixth of all the HYLA stations expected to be deployed until 2026. With more and more states demanding that trucks go carbon-neutral as soon as possible, it would not be surprising if these stations cease to be enough for these vehicles in a short time.

Apart from the HYLA stations, Nikola also wants to produce green hydrogen in Arizona with the Phoenix Hydrogen Hub (PHH) project. It will start to operate in the second half of 2024, delivering 30 metric tons per day (MTD) and slowly expanding its capacity until it can provide 150 MTD. With that in mind, we could see the first HYLA hydrogen stations emerging only next year, but Nikola has a deal with Plug Power to get 125 MTD more gree hydrogen.

As the companies did not discuss when that hydrogen would be available, it is not unlikely that it will be available right now. When PHH is ready, Plug Power should just add to HYLA's production capacity. The company intends to be able to produce 300 MTD, but it did not disclose when. That probably depends on how much demand HYLA will get for its hydrogen. Still, at least Nikola managed to untie the knot of hydrogen adoption: it would not get stations because there was no demand, and there were no vehicles needing the gas because they did not have where to buy it.

As production increases, hydrogen prices should drop, which may make this gas a more affordable option for refueling passenger cars. Even if people still argue that battery electric cars make more sense, it would be fantastic if plug-in hybrids could have a battery pack for shorter ranges and a fuel cell as a range extender. With HYLA's hydrogen network, that may become possible in the US sooner than hydrogen critics thought it would be.