The Nikola Hyla assets include six mobile refuelers and six hydrogen-hauling trailers, one for liquid hydrogen and five for gaseous hydrogen. (Nations Capital)
Site visits are set to start for potential buyers of Nikola’s remaining assets in the coming days, said Vince Lorenz, Nations Capital director of fleet and valuations.
Bankrupt hydrogen fuel cell electric truck manufacturer Nikola’s production and assembly facility in Coolidge, Ariz., and Phoenix headquarters were sold to electric passenger car maker Lucid in April.
Trucks, manufacturing inventory and the Hyla hydrogen refueling rolling stock are among the assets that parties interested in private sales — known as private treaty deals — will be able to view in Coolidge, Phoenix and Fontana, Calif., Lorenz told Transport Topics.
The majority of assets are stored at the Coolidge manufacturing plant, including 103 brand-new Class 8 hydrogen FCEV Tre trucks, said Lorenz, adding that interest has been decent so far after the announcement of the sale May 21.
“We’ve had a lot of interest so far,” he said, adding that he wasn’t surprised about the amount.
Nations Capital’s Lorenz says the majority of assets are stored at the Coolidge, Ariz., manufacturing plant, including 103 brand-new Class 8 hydrogen FCEV Tre trucks. (Nations Capital)
A high percentage of the interest has been from the U.S. and Canada, he said, although there have also been interested parties from the Middle East and Europe.
Some potential buyers have been interested in just one vehicle, including buying vehicles for testing the technology, Lorenz said. Others are interested in a larger amount of rolling stock, he added.
The Hyla assets include six mobile refuelers and six hydrogen hauling trailers, one of which is for liquid hydrogen and the other five are for gaseous hydrogen. Stationary refueling equipment that was never deployed also is available.
Some of the equipment sold to Nikola is receiving interest from the companies from which it was sourced, Lorenz said, while some of the equipment is receiving interest from industrial gas conglomerates.
Brand-new and never-installed Hyla stationary hydrogen refueling equipment was valued at $14 million. (Nations Capital)
Nations Capital has set a June 18 deadline for the end of private treaty deals, he said, although the deadline “may be extended if there is enough interest.”
Everything must be off-site by the start of September. Whatever is not sold is likely to be disposed of in a cleanup auction, he said.
When the sale was announced in May, Nations Capital and its Gordon Brothers parent company said the assets for sale included hydrogen truck raw material, subassembly and finished goods valued in excess of $114 million.
The Hyla mobile assets were valued at more than $14 million while what were termed “brand-new and never-installed Hyla stationary hydrogen refueling equipment” was valued at a similar price.
Carriers that bought Nikola FCEV trucks were among the interested parties so far, Lorenz said. The trucks need specialist refueling equipment and fuel supplies to avoid becoming stranded investments.
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California fleets — which comprise the majority of Nikola’s customers — must keep their hydrogen fuel cell tractors operational to remain compliant with the state’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus voucher program.
“This sale is n excellent opportunity for buyers to purchase brand-new hydrogen FCEVs, parts inventory, testing equipment, and refueling and transport systems,” Scott Ribeiro, director of commercial and industrial at Gordon Brothers, noted when the sale was announced.
Court documents show Lucid will pay $30 million for the 691,000-square-foot retooled manufacturing plant and offices after multiple auction rounds.
Nikola filed for court protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Feb. 19.
