General Motors has formed a strategic partnership with Nikola Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of zero-emission battery- and hydrogen-electric vehicles (such as trucks) and other components.
The partnership means that GM owns 11 per cent of Nikola and the right to nominate one director. It also means that Nikola will use GM’s Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel cell technology — a move that represents a commercialization milestone for GM.
“By joining together, we get access to their validated parts for all of our programs, General Motors’ Ultium battery technology and a multi-billion dollar fuel cell program ready for production,” said Trevor Milton, Founder and Executive Chairman of Nikola. “Nikola immediately gets decades of supplier and manufacturing knowledge, validated and tested production-ready EV propulsion, world-class engineering and investor confidence.”
On GM’s part, Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said the partnership allows for a broader deployment of the OEM’s new Ultium battery and Hydrotec fuel cell systems.
“We are growing our presence in multiple high-volume EV segments while building scale to lower battery and fuel cell costs and increase profitability,” said Barra. “In addition, applying General Motors’ electrified technology solutions to the heavy-duty class of commercial vehicles is another important step in fulfilling our vision of a zero-emissions future.”
The partnership will allow GM to push its fuel cell tech to the Class 7/8 semi-truck market, which in turn represents a significant “high-volume” commercialization of its Hydrotec fuel cell system. Fuel cells are anticipated to become increasingly important to the semi-truck market.
