On April 29, Hexagon Composites announced that its subsidiary Hexagon Purus has reached a long-term cooperation agreement with US hydrogen fuel heavy truck manufacturer Nikola to develop and produce high-performance IV hydrogen cylinders for the latter. The contract value will exceed 200 million euros.
Nikola is a start-up company located in Arizona, USA. It was listed on the Nasdaq in June 2020. It is known as the "Tesla" of the truck industry. Its founder has the same ambitions as Elon Marks. The names of the two new energy vehicle companies founded by the two together happen to be the full names of the American inventor Nikola Tesla.
Hexagon Compsoites said that the project's research and development activities will be launched in the second quarter of 2021, and related technologies will be certified in Europe and North America. Using this cooperation as a springboard, Hexagon Purus is also expected to participate in the development of Nikola's future multi-model trucks and other transportation vehicles.
Michael Kleschinski, Executive Vice President of Hexagon Purus in charge of related projects, said: "We are very pleased to be Nikola's partner in the field of hydrogen energy trucks. The 700 bar hydrogen cylinders we produce will be tested and certified within the year according to Nikola's specifications. ."
Hexagon Group is the world's leading manufacturer of high-performance composite gas cylinders. In recent years, its layout in the field of hydrogen energy has been closely linked. It has successively provided hydrogen cylinders for the world's first hydrogen energy train and hydrogen energy snow removal vehicle, cooperated with Toray, Mitsui, Volkswagen and other companies, and signed large supply agreements with a number of unnamed car and truck manufacturers. In the Chinese market, Hexagon has also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CIMC Enric to jointly build a hydrogen storage cylinder production line, directly targeting China's booming new energy vehicle market.