
Click to enlarge — 2000 horsepower BTW
❝ It’s long been assumed that while passenger vehicles may well start to transition to electric drive over the next decade or two, heavy commercial trucks won’t.
The energy density of liquid hydrocarbon fuel is particularly well suited to moving vehicles that can weigh 10 times the 2-ton weight of a passenger car.
But a handful of companies are forging ahead with electric and series-hybrid trucks anyhow, one of them being Nikola Motor Company.
❝ In May, Nikola unveiled its design for a natural gas- and electric-powered Class 8 commercial semi truck to be called the Nikola One.
The company, which had operated in stealth mode before April, now claims it has achieved “100 percent zero emissions” on its prototype, without providing specific test details.
Founder and CEO Trevor Milton said…that Nikola had achieved “the Holy Grail” of the trucking industry: “a zero-emission truck … that can haul 80,000 pounds more than 1,000 miles … without stopping.”
After that, he said, “the Nikola One requires only 15 minutes of downtime before heading out for the next 1,000 miles,” presumably for refueling.
❝ The company, named after famed electrical engineer Nikola Tesla, plans to unveil a running prototype of its truck in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 2.
The Nikola One is fueled with natural gas, though the turbine it uses to generate electricity can run on a variety of fuels.
There’s a portion of the trucking industry that operates as if the Republican Party will take care of their emissions pollution as smoothly as they protect NRA butt. Ain’t about to happen. No constitutional amendments at hand to be abused by agitprop pundits and preachers. Sooner or later, the over-the-road trucking industry will be pushed into serious upgrades.
Looking forward to seeing what this critter can do. There are several basics about energy transmission in the article that warm the cockles of this one-time traffic manager’s heart. They say they have pre-orders for 7,000 haulers!