Nikola To Break Ground On Production Plant To Build Hydrogen-Electric Semi Trucks

Hydrogen electric truck maker Nikola (NKLA) will break ground on a new production factory in Coolidge, Arizona, on July 23.

The founder of the company, Trevor Milton, said in a tweet that the facility will bring “thousands of new jobs” to Arizona and “billions of dollars” to the state’s economy, as the plant will produce 35,000 zero-emissions semi trucks a year.

Nikola factory is breaking ground July 23rd in Coolidge, AZ as promised! 35,000 trucks a year will be built out of Coolidge bringing billions of dollars to Arizona's economy and thousands of new jobs.
— Trevor Milton (@nikolatrevor) June 22, 2020

The facility, which is expected to begin production in 2022 or 2023, will build Nikola’s fleet of hydrogen-electric semi trucks, which will start production in Germany next year, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

Nikola also reportedly has plans to build 700 hydrogen stations in North America by the end of 2028, with 70 stations planned for Europe by 2032. The stations will be placed in convenient locations for truck drivers to refill, the news outlet said.

Nikola has seen its stock price rise significantly as Milton announced that the hydrogen-electric Badger pickup truck would begin taking reservations, starting on June 29. The Badger will be unveiled later this year after an OEM partnership is secured to build the hydrogen-electric pickup truck.

Nikola stock was trading at $71.38 per share at 1:36 p.m. EDT, up $1.38 from 1.97%.