The Tre truck from Nikola Corporation was unveiled in Europe at the IAA Transportation show in Hannover, Germany.
Both battery-electric and fuel cell electric versions of the Tre will be made available to European customers. The Tre European 42 Artic, the first of these, has nine battery packs that work together to provide a maximum energy storage capacity of 738 kWh.
According to Nikola, this version of the Tre has a range of up to 530 kilometers, and a 350 kW charger can charge the batteries to 80% of their capacity in under 100 minutes. An electric powertrain with 480 kW receives energy from the batteries.
“Today we are making history with the first products for the European market of IVECO’s powerful partnership with Nikola Corporation, Together, our teams have designed a modular platform capable of hosting both fuel cell and battery propulsion technologies, starting with the European 4×2 Artic version of the Nikola Tre BEV heavy-duty truck making its debut here today. It is the first-ever electric-born modular platform for articulated heavy-duty tractors hosting both energy sources: battery-electric for missions of approximately 500 km and fuel cell electric powertrain for hauling up to 800 km in its first generation. A true revolution that marks a tangible step towards our ambitious goal of achieving a zero-emissions transport.” Iveco Group’s truck business unit president Luca Sra said.
The Nikola Tre FCEV Artic 62, which has a 3,932 mm wheelbase and a capacity of about 70 kg of hydrogen at 700 pressures, is slightly smaller. It can reportedly be refueled in about 20 minutes and has a range of up to 800 kilometers. Given that the FCEV won't be available on the European market until 2024, the development of this model hasn't advanced as much as it has for the BEV variant.
With a 4,021 mm wheelbase, the Tre truck was developed in collaboration with Iveco. Iveco's specialized Nikola Tre BEV manufacturing factory is located in Ulm, Germany.