Nikola Corporation, via the HYLA brand, and FirstElement Fuel (FEF) have formalized a definitive 10-year agreement to refuel Nikola’s hydrogen fuel cell electric truck at FEF’s hydrogen refueling station in Oakland, Calif.

Under this strategic partnership, Nikola said FEF is appointed as an authorized Nikola Fueling Solutions Partner. This collaboration enables Nikola customers to access fueling services at the new FEF multi-use heavy-duty truck station situated strategically near the port in Oakland, Calif. The station, which uses FEF’s proprietary design, anticipates a fueling capacity of approximately 200 trucks per day.

Nikola said it plans to utilize several paths to achieve a network of up to 60 stations in the coming years, including mobile and permanent HYLA-branded stations, customer-owned stations and new and established public truck stops via Nikola’s fueling station partner network. Two fueling solutions locations are slated by the end of 2023 — one HYLA-branded fueling station in Ontario, Calif. and the FEF Oakland location, the company said. Several additional fueling solutions locations are planned by the close of Q2 2024.

Nikola said its broader strategy involves working with industry-leading partners to ensure a robust hydrogen supply chain, transport logistics, storage solutions and dispensing locations. As Nikola previously announced, enough energy offtake has been secured to support customer operations through the beginning of 2024. The team said it is actively working to secure additional hydrogen offtake for future sales while continuing to develop the refueling ecosystem.

FEF is in the process of installing several hydrogen refueling stations capable of fast-filling for Class 8 trucks. This initiative with Nikola will enable an acceleration of FEF’s commitment to building hydrogen infrastructure to serve transportation hubs in areas where clean solutions are imperative, it said.

Nikola said it also plans to develop a series of new hydrogen fueling locations under the brand name HYLA throughout Southern Calif. in the coming months followed by Northern Calif. to support the recent launch of the Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric truck.