Hydrogen truck pioneer Nikola has filed for bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale.
The company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, has $47m in the bank but this is ear-marked for its HYLA subsidiary that supplies hydrogen to its customers. It is building a ‘hydrogen corridor’ from north to south California for refuelling the Class 8 trucks and will continue running this to the end of March.
The application for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection comes after the company tried to raise cash and negotiate a trade sale in a flat automotive market for electric vehicles. The company makes Class 8 trucks using hydrogen fuel cells and battery power. The company had raised over $700m before going public through a SPAC company in 2020.
“Unfortunately, our very best efforts have not been enough to overcome these significant challenges, and the Board has determined that Chapter 11 represents the best possible path forward under the circumstances for the Company and its stakeholders,” said Steve Girsky, President and CEO of Nikola.
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“With the dedication of our employees and support from our partners, Nikola has taken significant steps to move zero-emissions transportation forward, including bringing the first commercially available Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks to market in North America and developing the HYLA hydrogen refueling highway, connecting Northern California to Southern California,” he said.
“Our customers have accumulated approximately 3.3 million fleet miles across both our FCEV and BEV truck platforms and our HYLA fueling network has dispensed well over 330 metric tons of hydrogen. Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted our ability to operate. In recent months, we have taken numerous actions to raise capital, reduce our liabilities, clean up our balance sheet and preserve cash to sustain our operations.”
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