Nikola Motor Company, which has been developing fuel cell trucks, recently announced that it also intends to offer some battery-electric models. The Nikola Two and Nikola Tre (European version) will be available in BEV versions, while the biggest truck in the lineup, Nikola One, will remain FCV only.

The company plans to present the new models later this year, with three battery options: 500 kWh; 750 kWh and 1 MWh.

Among the many hydrogen skeptics, an “I told you so” narrative started making the rounds. Some speculated that Nikola may end up abandoning fuel cells by the time its trucks make it to market. “It’s not too late to switch to BEVs,” wrote InsideEVs’ Mark Kane.

However, Nikola immediately refuted that line of thinking in a Twitter post: “H2 is 5,000 lbs lighter than BEV and is cheaper for long haul applications even with H2 costs. BEV is for inner cities and non weight sensitive applications. Nikola is not phasing [out] hydrogen at all, we will see 50:1 more hydrogen orders but some applications BEV works great.”

Nikola expects the Nikola Two with a 1 MWh battery pack to deliver a range of 400 miles, or 300 miles in cold weather.

The company is calling for peaceful coexistence: “Fuel Cell can’t be beat long haul and BEV is good option for short haul. World needs both. ICE is enemy, not hydrogen or BEV.”

Source: InsideEVs