- Nikola Corporation’s remaining assets were bought at auction by a company called Hyroad Energy.
- The Austin-based buyer scooped up 113 hydrogen fuel-cell trucks, along with spare parts, software platforms and intellectual property.
- Hyroad says it offers trucking-as-a-service solutions, including fueling infrastructure and trucks.
Nikola Corporation’s hydrogen fuel cell trucks will live to fight another day, after an Austin-based startup called Hyroad Energy bought the remaining inventory at auction.
Hyroad, which sells trucking-as-a-service solutions built around Class-8 hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles, bought a total of 113 trucks, as well as spare parts, software tools and intellectual property from the bankrupt truck maker, it announced earlier this month. When the lot hit the auction block in May, it included 103 finished trucks, TechCrunch reported earlier this year.
Currently, Hyroad has a handful of employees and some high-stakes partnerships with big names like Bosch and Hyundai. Its plan is to offer trucking-as-a-service packages, where hydrogen fuel-cell trucks are rented out to companies on a mileage basis. The Nikola trucks will be deployed primarily in California, the company said, where it is developing hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
That last part is key. A lack of reliable fueling infrastructure has hamstrung efforts to popularize hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are in theory about as clean as EVs and refuel in far less time. Existing fueling infrastructure is far from perfect, as we discovered last year, which is probably why the company wants to build more of them.
As part of the deal, Hyroad also got its hands on all the necessary tools to maintain a fleet of Nikola Tre FCEV trucks, and the company said it will help support other Nikola trucks that are already in service. That’s great news for the owners of the roughly 235 fuel-cell trucks that were sold before it all went downhill for the controversial truck maker.
"This acquisition significantly advances Hyroad's mission to provide turnkey hydrogen trucking solutions that reduce the complexity and risk typically associated with adopting zero-emission technologies," said Dmitry Serov, CEO and Founder of Hyroad Energy. "These trucks and the corresponding equipment and systems represent immediate capacity to put proven hydrogen fuel cell technology on the road to meet demand for zero-emission trucks.
Earlier this year, Nikola Corporation’s remaining assets were put up for auction. The trucks, raw materials and sub-assemblies had an estimated value of $114 million. Hyroad ended up agreeing to pay $3.85 million, according to court documents viewed by Transport Topics. Among the assets included in the auction were over 20 fuel-cell truck prototypes and nearly 200 electric truck chassis without batteries.
Back in January, Hyroad Energy, which is officially called Simoneta Ltd., was awarded a $9.1 million grant from the Texas Hydrogen Infrastructure, Vehicle and Equipment Grant (THIVE) Program to buy and deploy 28 new hydrogen-fueled Class 8 trucks in various areas of the state.
