The refueling facility has marked an important new stage in the company’s H2 strategy.
Through its HYLA brand, Nikola Corporation recently celebrated the opening of its first hydrogen station, a high-pressure modular refueling facility in Ontario, a city in Southern California.
Part of the celebration of the new refueling location was to welcome Nikola’s fleet customers
Through the opening of the HYLA brand hydrogen station, Nikola has launched the start of its refueling network. This event welcomed Nikola’s sales and service network dealers, its fleet customers, government officials, the company’s leadership and engineering teams, and industry press. The company took the time to recognize that each of those areas played a key role in bringing it to this point.
Nikola execs took the opportunity to speak at the event, as did Biagi Bros. Fleet Director Joe Biagi. City of Ontario representatives also made remarks as did reps from the office of Congresswoman Norma Torres, who presented Certificates of Recognition.
Hydrogen station refueling demonstrations
Those in attendance at the event also had the chance to participate in H2 truck and hydrogen refueling demonstrations. They were welcomed to take tours of both the facility and the equipment, and they had the chance to take part in a Q&A with engineers from Nikola, with a specific focus on the HYLA network and H2 safety.
Event attendees were also encouraged to take rides offered in Nikola’s fuel cell electric trucks, drawing further attention to the company’s H2 mobility tech – vehicles that will be refueled at the hydrogen station now open.
Ontario, California refueling location
The hydrogen station has technically been open since February. That said, this event marked its grand opening following the successful soft launch. The location is expected to be able to handle as many as 40 of the company’s H2-powered fuel cell electric Class 8 trucks per day.
HYLA Ontario Site Launch – Nikoa Truck and Liquid Hydrogen Truck – Image Source: – Nikola
Locations like this one are central in the company’s strategy for the adoption of H2-powered trucks. This is expected to be the first of as many as 9 hydrogen station modules to be installed by this summer. Moreover, Nikola plans to have 14 total stations open and operating by the close of 2024.
Efficient hydrogen station operation
To ensure that the refueling experience is smooth and efficient, Nikola is keeping 24/7 support on-site at the HYLA hydrogen station through the brand’s Ambassadors and Operation Technicians.
HYLA Ontario Site Launch – Truck Refueling – Image Source: Nikola
At the event, Nikola President of Energy Ole Hoefelmann expressed the company’s pride in marking the official opening of the first refueling location for the HYLA brand in Southern California. “We extend our sincere gratitude to the city of Ontario for their invaluable support and collaboration in bringing this vision to life,” he added.
Hoefelmann underscored the importance of the moment as a jumping off point as the company, region and world move forward on a “transformative journey toward a more sustainable future for transportation.” He pointed out that this is only the first of several other locations the company plans to have installed before the end of the year in order to meet their commitment to “driving positive change and leading the charge for zero-emission trucking solutions.”
Closing Thoughts
Nikola has certainly had its ups and downs in addition to its fair share of controversy in the last couple of years in particular. That said, they have increasingly focused their mission and have laid out a plan that could help to overcome the chicken-or-egg challenge many other companies are facing by focusing on either the H2 vehicles or hydrogen station networks. This could be a launching point not only for this brand but might mark progress for others in H2 transport as well.
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