AUTONEWS

Budweiser brewer makes first beer delivery with Nikola semi truck 

The next beer you crack open at the Enterprise Center may have an incredibly minimal carbon footprint, St. Louis Blues fans. Anheuser-Busch said on Thursday it completed the very first beer delivery using zero-emissions delivery vehicles.
Specifically, it hauled the shipment of beer in a Nikola hydrogen-electric semi, before its partner brought the adult beverage to its final destination in a BYD electric truck. Anheuser-Busch placed an order for 800 of the hydrogen-electric Nikola semi trucks last year as the beer brewer looks to turn its entire long-haul vehicle fleet into a zero-emissions one. By 2025, the company has committed to shaving 25% of its carbon emissions.
The beer brewer will run a fleet of Nikola Two hydrogen-electric trucks. These models do not solely run on hydrogen, but incorporate both a hydrogen fuel cell and battery-electric powertrain. On hydrogen, the Two should go up to 750 miles. With electricity from the battery, Nikola expects up to 350 miles of range. The BYD electric trucks, like the one used in this first shipment, are meant to complement the semis.



They'll largely run in California, where Anheuser-Busch began a pilot project with 21 of the electric vehicles, and the beer brewer will use them to run between four different distribution centers. The company even constructed a 958.5 kW solar array to charge the vehicles with renewable energy.
Back to Nikola, the company said it's working to deliver its production semis to the beer brewer as quickly as possible. Production will take place in Arizona at a new facility under construction that Nikola estimates will bring 2,000 new jobs to the area by 2024. The company is also working with partners to bring hydrogen refueling infrastructure to life. If all goes according to plan, it will have 700 stations by 2028.

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