Nikola Motor Company is partnering with Bosch on the development of its hydrogen fuel cell range-extended electric Class 8 long-haul truck, which was unveiled as a prototype last December.

By 2021, the company intends to bring the Nikola One and Two to market, each of which will deliver more than 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 lb-ft (2,712 N·m) of torque – nearly double the horsepower of any semi-truck on the road – with zero tailpipe emissions.

At the heart of Nikola’s truck lineup is a new commercial vehicle powertrain developed in partnership with Bosch. Bosch’s eAxle is a scalable, modular platform with the motor, power electronics and transmission in one compact unit.

The eAxles will use proven commercial vehicle electric machine technology and SMG (separate motor generator) motors from Bosch, and will be paired with a custom-designed fuel cell system. The vehicle controls will be jointly developed based upon Bosch’s vehicle control software and hardware.

“Bosch is an incubator of electromobility solutions,” said Bosch Board Member Dr. Markus Heyn. “Whether at established OEMs or start-ups, Bosch is accelerating development and helps achieve fast breakthroughs on the market.”

“We have been aggressively pursuing our goal of bringing the most advanced semi-truck ever built to market,” said Nikola Founder and CEO Trevor Milton. “The powertrain requires an innovative and flexible partner able to adapt quickly to the speed of our team. Bosch has empowered us to come to market quickly with automotive-grade hardware and software so our vision can become a reality.”

Source: Bosch