ITD Industries, in partnership with Arizona-based Nikola Corporation, celebrated the grand opening of Ontario’s first commercial hydrogen fueling station for heavy trucks on July 30th.
Four Nikola fuel cell trucks from the early adopters were displayed —including Walmart Canada, Canadian Tire, Loblaw, and Future Transfer.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford attended the opening ceremony and joined ITD owner Benny Di Franco in cutting the ribbon.
This station marks a significant milestone for Nikola and ITD Energy, a subsidiary of ITD Industries, which is the first Canadian dealer in the Nikola sales and service network.
Steve Girsky: “It’s hard for Nikola to be successful without being successful in Canada, it’s that important to us.”
This Hyla-branded station is located in Etobicoke at 161 The West Mall, close to Highways 401, 427 and the Queen Elizabeth Way.
It sets the stage for a hydrogen fueling corridor stretching from Windsor to Montreal.
The station is equipped to fuel at 700 bar, providing the quick refueling times essential for heavy-duty trucks.
With a range exceeding 850 kilometers, Nikola’s hydrogen fuel cell trucks offer a substantial advantage over battery-electric vehicles, making them a suitable option for long-haul journeys.
Doug Ford: ” So we’ll be working with the private sector as well to ensure that people can hop in one of these and deliver the goods without worrying about running out of hydrogen. So, we’ll be working with all of you together to come up with a strong plan. But in the meantime, hydrogen will play a critical role in Ontario’s clean energy future.”
Federal and provincial funding makes it easier for fleets to transition to hydrogen-powered vehicles as Canada moves toward a zero-emissions future. These include the federal Incentives for Medium and Heavy Duty Zero Emission Vehicles program and as well as British Columbia’s Clean BC Go Electric Rebate.
Steve Girsky: “We have trucks on the road today, including four that are here today. And these trucks are making a huge impact. We put over 3 million miles on these trucks in operations. And these trucks have avoided 4,700 metric tons of CO2 emissions. That’s like taking 1100 gasoline-powered cars off the road per year. And this is just the beginning.”
