Anheuser-Busch ditching diesel, orders up to 800 hydrogen-electric semis from Nikola Power

The semi-trucks from will be able to travel between 500 and 1,200 miles per charge and can be refilled within 20 minutes.

Photo from Nikola Power and Anheuser-Busch

By Cathy Proctor  – Reporter, Denver Business Journal

5 hours ago

Beer giant Anheuser-Busch said Thursday it’s ordered up to 800 new semi-trucks that run on a combination of hydrogen and electric power from Salt Lake City-based Nikola Motor Co. 

The zero-emission trucks — able to travel at least 500 miles and up to 1,200 miles on one tank of hydrogen — are expected to be added to the brewer’s fleet starting in 2020. 

Refilling the hydrogen tanks is expected to take less than 20 minutes, reducing idle time, the two companies said in an announcement Thursday. 

Anheuser-Busch in 2016 sent a self-driving semi down I-25, delivering 2,000 cases of beer from its Fort Collins brewery to a distribution center in Colorado Springs. 

The truck delivered the load it carried in a 53-foot trailer after driving itself more than 120 miles along I-25 through Denver, its driver in the back of the cab during its passage down the highway. 

Anheuser-Busch said the pre-order from Nikola will allow it to convert its entire long-haul fleet to renewable-powered trucks by 2025. 

Nikola’s CEO, Trevor Milton, said the company has received nearly $9 billion worth of pre-orders and expects to have more than 700 hydrogen refueling stations across the U.S. and Canada by 2028.

“Hydrogen-electric technology is the future of logistics and we’re proud to be leading the way,” Milton said. 

Nikola designs and manufactures electric vehicles, vehicle components, energy storage systems, and electric vehicle drivetrains.

In January, Nikola announced it would move its headquarters to Phoenix and build a $1 billion, 2,000-job manufacturing plant on the west side of the city. 

Nikoa also sued electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla on Tuesday in the Arizona federal court, claiming Tesla’s electric semi truck copied the “unique design” of its own Nikola One electric Class 8 heavy-duty truck.

Nikola’s patent infringement case seeks $2 billion from Tesla. 

Michel Doukeris, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, said his company’s move toward hydrogen-electric semi trucks is part of its effort to “improve sustainability across our entire value chain.” 

]“The transport industry is one that is ripe for innovative solutions and Nikola is leading the way with hydrogen-electric, zero-emission capabilities. We are very excited by the possibilities our partnership with them can offer,” Doukeris said.

Anheuser-Busch has 12 breweries, including the one in Fort Collins that sits on 1,131 acres and covers 1 million square feet. 

The Fort Collins facility makes an array of beers, including the Budweiser line, the Michelob line, Busch, O’Doul’s and some craft beer titles from Goose Island. 

About 225 trucks leave the Fort Collins brewery every day, plus 30 rail cars a week. The brewery’s service territory covers much of the west and surrounding states, including Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah, as well as parts of the West Coast states of Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada, Minnesota, and Iowa.

Anheuser-Busch’s 2025 sustainability goals includes cutting CO2 emissions by 25 percent company-wide.

The 800 new trucks from Nikola is expected to reduce the brewer’s fleet emissions by more than 18 percent, equivalent to taking more than 13,000 passenger vehicles off the road a year, the two companies said.