Nikola Corporation (NKLA)

[srm4u]

THE BIG NEW INVESTOR
Milton said that truck and bus giant CNH Industrial, parent of IVECO trucks, will put up a quarter of the $1 billion being sought in Series D.

That $250 million is the company’s largest single outside investment to date. It would give CNH a 6.25 percent stake if Nikola raises the entire $1 billion it is seeking.

But only $100 million of the CNH investment is cash. The remaining $150 million will be in-kind services and goods, mainly a fully engineered truck platform designed for the kind of electric propulsion system Nikola has developed.

IVECO and CNH’s powertrain unit, FPT Industrial, also will provide ongoing engineering and manufacturing assistance. It also will help with development of Nikola’s hydrogen fuel station network.
https://www.trucks.com/2019/09/23/funding-hydrogen-truck-builder-nikola-motor/

“The time has come to finally provide a zero-emission solution to the heavy-duty truck market,” Milton said in a statement. “Nikola has the technology but needs a partner with a European network to achieve it in a timely manner. With CNH Industrial’s investment and partnership, we can now bring zero-emission trucks to Europe.”

Fuel-cell and battery-powered vehicles are both electric, sharing the same motors and many other components. The key difference is that batteries store electricity and fuel cells produce it onboard as needed in an electrochemical process that extracts electrons from hydrogen forced through fuel-cell membranes. Aside from the electricity, the only byproduct is water vapor, rather than harmful diesel exhaust. Beyond cars and trucks, they’ve been used by NASA for decades, they work as stationary electricity generators and are being developed to power trains and even ships and ferries.

CNH was created in 2012 when Fiat Industrial was spun off from the automotive business, and is controlled by the Agnelli family. Its Nikola investment came amid an announcement Tuesday that Iveco will operate as a stand-alone unit, listed separately from its other divisions.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2019/09/03/heavy-duty-fuel-hydrogen-truck-startup-nikola-gets-250-million-investment-from-cnh-industrial/#2dc1eb3f3f58

Exor N.V. is an Italian holding company,[3] incorporated in the Netherlands and controlled by the Italian Agnelli family through privately held company Giovanni Agnelli B.V. In 2019 it recorded revenues of $144 billion,[1] making it the 28th largest group in the world by revenue, according to the 2020 Fortune Global 500 List.[3] It has a history of investments running over a century, which notably include auto and truck manufacturers Stellantis, Ferrari and CNH Industrial, global reinsurer PartnerRe, the football team Juventus F.C. and the international newspaper The Economist.
Exor N.V.


Summary: Space Applications of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
The space shuttle docks with the International Space Station.The space shuttle docks with the International Space Station in orbit. Credit: NASAFor decades, NASA has relied upon hydrogen gas as rocket fuel to deliver crew and cargo to space. With the Centaur, Apollo and space shuttle vehicles, NASA has developed extensive experience in the safe and effective handling of hydrogen. For example, the rocket engines of each shuttle flight burn about 500,000 gallons of cold liquid hydrogen with another 239,000 gallons depleted by storage boil off and transfer operations.
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/hydrogen/hydrogen_2009.html

Alstoms hydrogen fuel cell train wins 2018 GreenTec Mobility Award
Alstoms Coradia iLint, the worlds first hydrogen fuel cell powered regional train, has won the GreenTec Award 2018 in the category Mobility by Schaeffler. Today Alstom was officially presented with the award at its largest production site, located in Salzgitter, Germany, during an advance award ceremony ahead of the GreenTec Awards gala to be held in Munich on May 13th.
https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2018/5/alstoms-hydrogen-fuel-cell-train-wins-2018-greentec-mobility-award

Ballard Signs Supply Agreement With Norled for Fuel Cell Modules to Power Ferry in Norway
The Administration Director of Norwegian Public Roads, Terje Moe Gustavsen said, "Hydrogen will be the last piece in order to get zero-emissions in the ferry sector. Hydrogen is the solution where electric operation alone is not possible."
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ballard-signs-supply-agreement-with-norled-for-fuel-cell-modules-to-power-ferry-in-norway-1028094555#

Hyundai, Nikola and Toyota Start to Build the Hydrogen Highway
https://www.trucks.com/2019/11/12/hyundai-nikola-toyota-build-hydrogen-highway/

Toyota, Nikola and Shell Seek Fuel Cell Truck-Fueling Standards
https://www.trucks.com/2019/02/21/toyota-nikola-hydrogen-truck-fueling/

Making the hydrogen
Nikola's early partnership with Nel Hydrogen is a positive sign. Nel has been around for 90 years, supplying water electrolysis machinery to industrial and commercial companies in Europe. Løkke told Ars that the company has never made hydrogen from methane; water electrolysis is its primary business. Though the company has primarily built systems for industrial use, it sees its partnership with Nikola as a valuable way to expand its market into transportation, building the many refueling stations that any serious attempt at a hydrogen freight network will need.
https://www.engadget.com/2020-02-10-nikola-motors-badger-electric-truck-concept.html
https://nikolamotor.com/hydrogen#hydrogen-process

Startup Nikola Bets Hydrogen Will Finally Break Through With Big Rigs
Apr 14, 2019,09:30am EDT

For battery cars, it’s relatively simple to create public charging infrastructure to allow drivers to power up when parked, but even a fast charge can take 30 minutes or more. Fuel-cell cars can be refueled in about the same amount of time as those using gasoline, though the number of public stations dispensing compressed hydrogen gas in California, which has the most, is just 37 currently, clustered in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange County and down to San Diego. Dozens more are planned, but like the extensive Supercharger network Musk has built up for Tesla owners, Nikola’s 700-station goal would be a game-changer for cross-country travel.

“If there’s suddenly this expansion of hydrogen infrastructure across the U.S., it’s a big deal,” said Craig Scott, national manager for Toyota’s U.S. advanced technologies group. “It would be a very good thing to have more hydrogen stations opening up–more is more.”

Toyota has sold Mirai hydrogen sedans in California and Japan for the past few years, and operates two fuel-cell trucks at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with more on the way. It’s even building a hydrogen plant at the ports, making the fuel from waste material, to power its fleet.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2019/04/14/can-a-15-billion-bet-on-fuel-cell-big-rigs-be-a-game-changer-for-hydrogen/?sh=450ba2bcfe4c