Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Nikola Corporation, has partnered with the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) and Calgary-based TC Energy to bring large-scale hydrogen fueling stations to Canada. He believes that Canada is a promising global market for its hydrogen fuel cell trucks, and that the infrastructure is more important than the truck itself. He also sees parallels between Canada and Germany in how the two nations view the promise of hydrogen as a way to wean the transportation industry off diesel. Canada's Hyla brand is attracted to the hydrogen fuel market due to its low cost and availability of cheap energy and water. Transtractor Energy has identified a 140-acre plot in Crossfield, Alta., for construction of the first hydrogen fueling site, which would produce 60 tons of hydrogen per day.
Nikola fuel-cell-electric trucks will have a range of 500 miles (800 km) between fueling and have been well received by fleets in Alberta. The first of those mobile fueling sites should reach Alberta later this year. Lohscheller noted the permitting process and other barriers that must be overcome, but the mobile solution is a great asset to bridge it.
