Nikola Wins Research Grant From DOE

Scandal-plagued electric powered truck maker Nikola introduced Thursday that it received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Energy Section to produce hydrogen refueling technologies.

The grant was formally awarded July 7 — three weeks before Nikola founder Trevor Milton was indicted on three counts of criminal fraud for lying about “nearly all elements of the business” to strengthen the startup’s inventory income.

“Even before the indictment, the looming lawful challenges have been very well identified as the firm disclosed it experienced acquired subpoenas from both of those the Justice Section and the Securities and Trade Commission,” CNN mentioned.

Nikola mentioned the grant was for advancing its investigate into autonomous refueling technologies for potential hydrogen fueling stations. Some of the electric powered vehicles Nikola is building would be driven by heavy duty hydrogen gasoline cells.

“This funding is crucial to progress important hydrogen fueling technologies that can strengthen the all round performance of gasoline-cell business motor vehicles, whilst retaining the security and trustworthiness expectations expected,” Pablo Koziner, who qualified prospects Nikola’s hydrogen fueling business, mentioned in a news release.

Milton was pressured to resign as Nikola’s executive chairman in September 2020 soon after small-vendor Hindenburg Research alleged the firm was “an intricate fraud crafted on dozens of lies about the program of [Milton’s] profession.” Nikola admitted in a filing before this 12 months that an inside investigation confirmed Milton experienced deceived buyers.

In reaction to the grant award, Hindenburg mentioned that Milton’s indictment quoted him as saying that “Nikola was generating hydrogen and was accomplishing so at a decreased price tag, when [he] knew that in truth no hydrogen was remaining manufactured at all by Nikola, at any price tag.”

The small-vendor added that it uncertainties “a $2 million grant will enable remodel that lie into a reality.”

According to The Verge, the grant will come at a time when the Energy Section “is getting prepared to ramp up funding activity to enable progress the United States’ progress of clean vitality technologies — a precedence under President Biden.”

The section “makes funding awards primarily based on a rigorous, merit-primarily based evaluate system that involves various technological know-how specialists reviewing programs,” it mentioned Thursday.

Section of Energy, electric powered vehicles, grants, hydrogen refueling, Nikola, Trevor Milton