When two of the most influential men in global trucking sat down to talk in Phoenix, Arizona last spring, they discovered they shared the same passion for full industry transformations, and for outpacing and outthinking sluggish incumbent players. They quickly decided to combine their expertise.
Gerrit Marx, president of commercial and specialty vehicles at CNH Industrial, IVECO’s parent company and Europe’s fifth-largest heavy truck manufacturer, was looking for fast-lane access to the technologies that would give it a head start in the race to the zero-emission future.
Trevor Milton, founder of American electric truck pioneer Nikola Motor Company, wanted to break into the European market with the support of a local truck maker with a reputation for innovation and disruption in a traditionally conservative industry, and with a genuinely conflict-free interest in making Nikola successful in the US.
A year later, their heavy truck joint venture looks set to transform the face of European road haulage and logistics. “If our competitors knew what we had in our pipeline across the transport ecosystem, they would be blown away,” Marx says. “The other players in our industry are generally more conservative.”
In 2021, the first zero-emission trucks manufactured by the partnership will roll off the production lines at IVECO’s manufacturing facility in Ulm, Germany.
Based on IVECO’s new S-Way truck and incorporating cutting-edge technology from Nikola, the first version of the Nikola TRE to reach the market will be powered by an advanced battery pack. In 2023, customers will be able to buy a revolutionary model that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electric power. This version of the TRE, and its modular platform, combining the latest breakthroughs in fuel cell management, will make IVECO’s competitors stand up and take notice, says Marx.
“Hydrogen fuel cells are the ultimate solution for long-haul haulage,” he says. “Refueling with hydrogen is much faster than recharging a battery pack, and the trucks will have at least double the range—around 1,000 km.”
In the transition to the hydrogen era, IVECO has an invaluable ace up its sleeve. It may not be the largest truck brand in Europe, but the company is the undisputed market leader in the production of vehicles powered by gas. IVECO vehicles can already run carbon-neutral on bio-methane produced from agricultural and urban waste. IVECO’s long experience in manufacturing trucks, its expertise in gas-powered commercial vehicles, and its role in helping to establish the European refueling infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) make it the perfect partner for Nikola.
“IVECO is the most disruptive truck manufacturer in Europe. With Nikola, we are taking the first steps in the journey to zero emissions.”
Gerrit Marx, President, Commercial and Specialty Vehicles, CNH Industrial
“In the story of reducing emissions from trucks, LNG is the first page in achieving carbon neutrality with bio sources,” Marx says. “Hydrogen produced from renewable energy will be the next chapter.” Demand for gas vehicles is already soaring across the European logistics landscape despite the impact of COVID-19, as businesses across all industries try to reduce their carbon footprints in response to pressure from customers, governments, and other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, to encourage use of alternative fuels and increase European energy independence, the EU is requiring truck makers to explore clean power options in order to cut emissions from their fleets by 15% by 2025 and by 30% by 2030. IVECO’s partnership with Nikola will enable it to meet those targets and to serve growing demand from a truck market that is crying out for innovation.
“Suddenly, we are seeing a new understanding in the market of the importance of sustainability and the role of hydrogen,” Marx says. “There is going to be a fundamental change in the way we think about the future of trucking. IVECO and Nikola will be at the forefront of that industry transformation.”
