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That frames up Nikola’s aspirational capacity, but also the size of the challenge hydrogen fuel cell vehicles face
Electricity generation exists all over the world, on every continent, and it is only getting cleaner as more and more renewables are added
That’s why Nikola Motor Company went after fleets first
“Clean transportation fuel, no compromise. That’s what we’re trying to achieve here,” Lokke said
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and solar powered production of hydrogen have the potential to give transportation a one-two knock out punch, but even the utopian projections of the Nikola Motor Company don’t have renewable hydrogen production on the radar
That is a hefty goal that would require tens of acres of land beyond the 7–10 acre fueling depots themselves
Said another way, they would effectively be using electricity that’s as clean as the current grid mix in California and Germany
The disconnect between the initial vision and taking some time to implement it is normal which is fine
The real discrepancies start to emerge when we dig into the inefficiencies of hydrogen as an energy storage medium compared to battery electric vehicles
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, on the other hand, have a lot of losses
So both battery electric vehicles and sustainably-produced hydrogen can come from electricity and be powered by solar, wind, or other renewables
Tesla also produces its own solar panels, so it even gets a discount on the front end for the renewable generation of its electricity