A Port of Oakland drayage operator has revealed a series of problems regarding his hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) Class 8 semi early-adoption experience, specifically operating and fuel costs, weight limitations, and repairs and warranty concerns following nearly a year of ownership.
Speaking to Clean Trucking, William Hall, manager of San Francisco Bay Area Coyote Container and owner of the first Nikola Tre FCEV semi sold to a customer, claims there are "some serious constraints that need to be eliminated" in order for hydrogen fuel cell technology to become a viable and economic alternative to traditional diesel-powered semis.
To date, Nikola is the only manufacturer to commercially launch an FCEV Class 8 semi. There's also the Hyundai Xcient Class 8 FCEV, but only 30 units have been deployed as part of the NorCal Zero Project in California. Hyundai aims to launch additional units to run routes in the vicinity of its newly opened EV passenger vehicle production plant in Georgia. A U.S. market on-sale date remains unknown.
Hall's revelations follow Nikola's recent announcement that it wholesaled 200 Tre FCEVs and a total of 235 units since hitting the market in Q4 2023. The OEM also recently released its inaugural Sustainability Impact Report, which marks the OEM's many accomplishments.
Hall, based on his early experiences, remains concerned whether today's FCEV technology can provide an effective and affordable alternative for drayage purposes, despite the availability of incentives through California's Hybrid and Zero-Emissions Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP).
"I am not holding back my constructive criticism to the folks who are dictating unrealistic goals and putting small truckers at financial risk," Hall stated.
High purchase cost
The California Air Resources Board's (CARB) HVIP program is available for companies, non-profits, and independent owner-operators with 20 or fewer trucks or buses in their fleets and less than $15 million in annual revenue. Even so, independent owner-operators like Hall still face a financial burden.
"The truck costs five to ten times that of a standard Class 8 drayage [truck]," Hall explained. "On top of that, you pay five to ten times the Federal Excise Tax (FET) and local sales tax, [which comes to] roughly 22%. If you add the 10% reserve not covered by any voucher program, you are at 32%. Thirty-two percent of $500,000 is $160,000 for the trucker to somehow pay [out of pocket]."
[Related: CARB policies don't reflect reality, says Port of Oakland operator]
For context, the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule requires all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold or registered in the state to be zero tailpipe emission by 2036. By 2042, all commercial vehicles must conform. Several lawsuits have been filed by the trucking industry challenging CARB's EV mandates.
Hall's issues, meanwhile, go beyond the initial purchase cost.
Fuel prices and weight
Earlier this year, Nikola, through its HYLA brand, launched its first modular hydrogen fueling station in Southern California. It also opened its inaugural, non-modular hydrogen station in Ontario, California that's capable of fueling upwards of 40 trucks daily.
Hall, however, claims that not only are more stations needed, but that the price of the hydrogen fuel itself remains a mystery - and a liability for customers.
"No one will tell you what the H2 fuel costs per kilogram," he said. "This is because it's being subsidized by the truck manufacturers by artificially raising truck pricing. This is a severe market distortion."
He suspects the most generous subsidized prices are as much as twice the price of diesel, meaning the truck operator has to raise the fuel surcharge for customers. Customers, in return, are unwilling to pay higher fuel costs and, therefore, stick with diesel. Hall believes this problem could potentially be solved by using taxes and credits from the International Fuel Tax Association (IFTA), an agreement between U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions for uniform collection and distribution of fuel taxes paid by motor carriers.
Nikola says Hall's analysis of hydrogen costs is slightly mistaken. "All Nikola customers know what they are paying per kg, but in the nascent state of technology and in keeping with industry standard, fuel costs are negotiated per customer," the company said in a request for comment from Clean Trucking.
The issue of vehicle weight limitations has also caused problems because an FCEV cannot compete with traditional diesel-powered trucks.
"A Nikola Tre FCEV weighs 27,000 pounds versus my heaviest [diesel] sleeper weighing 19,400 pounds. Most drayage trucks weigh between 16,000 to 18,000 pounds. Shippers max out cargo whenever they can, so I have to constantly switch to a diesel in order to be road legal," he explained.
The gross vehicle weight rating for a recent Nikola load, for example, came in at 85,000 pounds, requiring Hall to switch trucks to comply with the 80,000-pound GVWR limit and dray the container to another location. He says it's necessary to get the state and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to provide 90,000-pound gross vehicle weight limit waivers for all zero-emissions Class 8 tractors.
"Eighty-thousand pounds in California doesn't cut it," said Hall.
Station issues and warranty repairs
Hydrogen refueling stations can sometimes increase operating costs due to dwell time, Hall cautions.
"If you are three-deep at a refueling station, you have to pay your driver an hour to an hour and a half to standby and wait." Reliability is another concern.
"Currently in Southern California, of the four mobile refuelers, three are broken down," he claims. "I can't refuel in Oakland, for example, and make my trip down there as the location I need is out of service." Refueling stations are susceptible to leaks and safety concerns due to hydrogen's flammability, though Hall didn't specify whether he encountered this.
Nikola paints a different picture of station reliability, claiming the uptime figures in its three current locations (Ontario, Long Beach, and Santa Fe Springs) are above 97%.
Any truck, regardless of age or power source, is susceptible to downtime from unplanned service events. Diesel truck owners have the relative luxury of dealership networks and independent shops for repair work. Meanwhile, FCEV repair facilities remain scarce. For now, Nikola is the only FCEV market player, but Hall's truck has been out of service for at least seven weeks out of the last nine months.
"There's been a never-ending stream of serious and not so serious issues requiring repair. The only repair spot is in Stockton [nearly 75 miles away from the Port of Oakland] in which case I lose a whole man for a day just bringing the truck up there. There are no technical or parts manuals available [for potential in-house maintenance]."
In response to Hall's stated frustrations to Clean Trucking, Nikola pointed to a recent rebuttal of a similar social media post by Hall from a representative of Ethero, Hall's Nikola dealer: "I think it's fair to say that as an extremely early adopter of this technology, and with one of the first units off the assembly line, this truck has served you well," said the Ethero representative. "Many of these 'warranty repairs' were in fact UPDATES, bringing your early version up to current factory standard. As a dealer, we can see that Nikola is improving the performance of the truck's 'on the fly' as they learn where this technology needs to be optimized."
As for the length of time it has taken to make repairs, the Ethero representative offers this dealer perspective: "May I suggest that some of the delay has been due to the dedication of the service team to properly isolate the exact problem before generating a solution? Many of these issues that arose required arduous diagnosis as it was the first time the OEM had experienced a particular failure. We all want it repaired fast, but there was equal dedication to making sure the solution was effective."
All new technology adopters face adversity in the early years, and FCEV OEMs and customers are no different. Nikola says it and Ethero have worked with Hall since the purchase of his truck and provided nothing less than first-class, white-glove treatment. "We are still expecting that we are on the precipice of a sea change in transportation. Bumps in the road are expected, but the results will be worth the effort," said the Ethero representative.
"We appreciate Mr. Hall’s pioneering spirit, which aligns with ours, and we have constantly worked with him to resolve any issues, perceived and material," says Nikola.
To Hall's credit and despite his ongoing issues, he remains committed to the Nikola and hydrogen fueling technology.
"I will push to keep my Nikola going down the road and maybe pick up a few more so we can all learn and build."
From an early adopter perspective, Hall's experiences with FCEV technology indicates the vehicles have a ways to go before lining up with traditional diesel semis' operating costs. Larger fleets are in a better position to take these financial risks, but small businesses have more to lose.
To that end, Clean Trucking is working to provide a fleet perspective of FCEV early adoption.
