Hanwha Group has secured a bridgehead for entering the hydrogen business with the listing of Nikola, a U.S. hydrogen truck maker, on the NASDAQ. This is because Hanwha Energy and Hanwha General Chemical, which invested a total of $100 million in 2018, are more likely to join Nikola's hydrogen truck business, which has been recognized for its potential success through listing. The value of Hanwha's stake in Nicola has reached $750 million since its listing.
Nicola closed at $33.75 per share on the NASDAQ market on June 4, the first day of its listing. Based on the closing price, the company's value came to $12.2 billion. Prior to this, Nikola received approval for a merger plan with NASDAQ-listed VectoIQ, an investment company in transportation and energy, at a shareholders' meeting on June 2.
As Nicola entered the NASDAQ, the value of the stakes in Nicola held by Hanwha Energy and Hanwha General Chemical increased to $750 million. The two companies preemptively invested a total of $100 million in Nicola in November 2018 and hold 6.13 percent of the merged entity. In other words, the value of their holdings has increased more than seven folds in just one and a half years since it started investing in shares.
Hanwha's major affiliates are actively considering entering the U.S. hydrogen ecosystem market with the listing of Nikola. Hanwha Energy has the authority to supply power generated by solar power to Nikola hydrogen charging stations first. Hanwha General Chemical has secured the right to operate hydrogen charging stations.
In the process, Hanwha Q Cells will be able to supply solar modules to hydrogen charging stations, while Hanwha Solutions' high-tech materials division will have a chance to supply tanks for hydrogen charging stations or hydrogen tanks for trucks.
"By maximizing the capacity of Hanwha affiliates, we have laid the foundation for entering the hydrogen ecosystem market," a Hanwha official said. "We will establish ourselves as a representative company for eco-friendly new and renewable energy that encompasses not only solar energy but also hydrogen in order to actively respond to climate change."
Nikola, which Hanwha invested in first, was founded in 2015 by its founder Milton. After receiving initial investment from Hanwha, Bosch in Germany, and CNH Industrial in Italy in 2018 and 2019, the company is developing a hydrogen truck (FCEV) that can travel 1,200 miles (about 1920 kilometers) on a single charge of hydrogen and an electric battery truck (BEV) targeting Europe.
Nikola is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and is currently building a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Coolidge, near Phoenix.
Starting next year, it plans to enter the U.S. and European truck markets through sales of electric battery cars and mass-produce hydrogen trucks as early as 2023. "We've already preordered more than 14,000 hydrogen trucks worth more than $10 billion," Nikola said.
In addition to manufacturing hydrogen trucks, Nicola plans to start a hydrogen-based logistics business by building a hydrogen charging station. It has already secured Anheuser Busch InBev, a world-renowned beer company that produces Budweiser, as a logistics agent using hydrogen trucks.
To that end, it also proposed a goal of building 800 hydrogen charging stations across the U.S. and Canada by 2027. Ultimately, Nicola's ambition is to completely change the world's logistics infrastructure with self-driving trucks based on hydrogen energy.
