News On Nikola Corp. (NKLA) Now Under NKLAQ

By Paul Berger

The bankruptcy of onetime green-energy favorite Nikola is puncturing hopes for hydrogen in trucking.

Nikola was the most high-profile of several startups and legacy truck makers vying to produce hydrogen fuel-cell big rigs on the promise that the zero-emissions technology had significant advantages over battery-electric vehicles.

Phoenix-based Nikola filed for bankruptcy Wednesday and said it couldn't on its own provide service and support operations for its trucks past the end of March. Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Hyzon, another hydrogen fuel-cell truck maker, in December cited uncertainty around government subsidies as it warned of mass layoffs that could begin as soon as this month.

Bill Elrick, executive director of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership industry group, said the loss of just one of the companies would have a "chilling effect" on the sector.

"We're still trying to get started and any kind of stumble is problematic," Elrick said.

Early adopters of fuel-cell big rigs are facing a crisis as the truck makers stumble. The nascent sector has relied on the carrot of generous state and federal subsidies and the stick of government regulations to generate momentum. Early progress is hitting a roadblock with the Trump administration, which has threatened to pull funding for clean-energy programs and block or roll back regulations forcing carriers to buy zero-emission trucks.

Nikola's and Hyzon's struggles leave South Korea's Hyundai as the leading fuel-cell truck provider in the U.S. Hyundai has dozens of fuel-cell big rigs operating around the world, including in California and at a Hyundai plant near Savannah, Ga.

Hydrogen was supposed to offer a solution to the problems facing heavy-duty trucks powered by batteries. Hydrogen-powered rigs are thousands of pounds lighter than battery-electric vehicles, so they can carry heavier loads while staying under state weight restrictions. They can also refuel more quickly and have a longer driving range than battery-electric trucks.

But while battery-electric trucks can tap in to the existing power grid, hydrogen fuel-cell operations mostly require the gas to be trucked to a location and dispensed from a mobile refueling station. Hydrogen is expensive and truckers say it needs to be heavily subsidized so they can compete with diesel-powered rivals in a cutthroat industry that survives on thin margins.

Early adopters of the technology have dealt with other challenges too.

Jim Gillis, president of the Pacific region for Collierville, Tenn.-based trucker IMC Logistics, operates a fleet of 50 Nikola fuel-cell big rigs in Southern California. Gillis said overall maintenance and repair costs on his Nikola trucks are roughly the same as diesel, but that a low-speed collision that damaged a hydrogen fuel cell resulted in a repair quote of $200,000, more than the cost of a new diesel truck.

Gillis said he still believes in fuel-cell technology, but he is delaying plans to expand his fuel-cell fleet.

"I want to make sure the technology is solid," Gillis said. "I also want to make sure the [truck maker] is going to be around for a while."

Write to Paul Berger at paul.berger@wsj.com