Nikola's HYLA Stations Are a 'Supercharger Moment' for Hydrogen Trucking

• HYLA, a portmanteau of HYdrogen and NikoLA, is a Nikola-owned subsidiary that is focusing on building a «robust hydrogen supply chain.»
• HYLA's first station can refill a typical commercial truck in less than 20 minutes. It's located near countless warehouses in Ontario, California, a trucking hub within range of local ports.
• Portable above-ground units make up the station, and they use liquid hydrogen that is converted to gaseous form as it is dispensed into a truck and pressurized to 10,000 psi.

Nikola, an alternate-fuel heavy-duty truckmaker with a checkered past, has taken a big step toward ensuring future success by opening its first HYLA-branded hydrogen refueling station. It's built to fill the refueling needs of the company's own Tre FCHEV (fuel-cell hydrogen electric vehicle). You could call this Nikola's «Supercharger moment,» a Tesla-like move in which they take charge of both the chicken and the egg sides of the equation so potential customers of their Tre FCHEV semi will not have to wonder how they'll refuel their new rigs.

But HYLA stations are not built to serve Nikola's trucks exclusively: the H70 refueling standard and nozzle design they employ is an industry standard that is also used by heavy-duty hydrogen fuel-cell trucks from Hyundai and others.

The use of liquid hydrogen solves a couple of problems that can plague the gaseous hydrogen stations geared toward the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo, particularly capacity and downtime. A given amount of liquid hydrogen takes up only a tenth the space of hydrogen in gaseous form, so the portable above-ground units (there are currently two at this location) can refill many more trucks—about 20 to 25 trucks per day, per unit. Furthermore, the extremely cold nature of liquid hydrogen (-423 Fahrenheit) eliminates the overheating issues that can hamper gaseous hydrogen delivery. Finally, the HYLA stations (which will be open 24/7) are staffed by technicians that carry out refueling and monitor performance.

Where to Put New Stations for Cars?

Station location decisions are much easier to determine when heavy-duty trucking is involved, because commercial trucks follow very predictable routes, particularly