Nikola to sell up to 75 hydrogen-powered trucks to Plug Power

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Electric truck maker Nikola Corp said on Thursday that it would sell up to 75 Tre hydrogen-powered trucks over three years to fuel-cell technology developer Plug Power Inc.

Electric vehicle (EV) makers are looking to capitalize on tax incentives provided by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to lower costs of adopting EVs for commercial purposes.

Plug Power will attach its liquid hydrogen tankers to Nikola's trucks, whose deliveries will begin next year, to transport green hydrogen fuel across North America.

The company will also provide a liquefaction system for Nikola's hydrogen hub project in Buckeye, Arizona, which will produce 30 metric tons per day of the gas initially, and scale up to 150 metric tons per day.

Nikola said that low-carbon hydrogen from the facility will enable further deployment of its Tre fuel-cell electric trucks.

Plug Power will also supply Nikola 125 metric tons per day of green hydrogen, and the latter has the option to secure more volumes and also to source the hydrogen fuel from elsewhere in the United States.

Earlier this year, Nikola said that incentives provided by the IRA would help the company lower costs of its electric trucks and hydrogen energy business.

Nikola had said that it plans to build up to 60 hydrogen-dispensing stations by 2026 and enable access to up to 300 metric tons of low-carbon hydrogen supply. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)