Leading Hydrogen Fuel Cell Exec Leaves Nikola

Jesse Schneider was Nikola’s executive vice president of technology, hydrogen and fuel cells.

Things haven’t been going especially well for Nikola, after that scarring report published by Hindenburg Research, then it killed the Badger pickup project late last year after its deal with GM fell through and, more recently, two major investors announced they were looking to liquidate significant parts of the shares they owned.

Korea’s Hanwha announced it wanted to liquidate 50 percent of its shares (11.05-million shares, valued at $170-million) and Bosch confirmed it was liquidating 4-million shares, although the latter still owns 19-million shares or around a 5 percent stake in Nikola.

Now the company has lost one of its key executives, Jesse Schneider, who was Nikola’s executive vice president of technology, hydrogen and fuel cells. He left on positive terms and is looking to start his own business. Schneider, who has two decades of automotive industry experience behind him, specifically in developing hydrogen fuel cells and electrification, said on his Linkedin profile that

It was my honor to lead the hydrogen and fuel cell development teams of the Nikola Two and soon-to-be-released Tre Fuel Cell prototypes with Iveco and Bosch. I left Nikola with the purpose of starting a new company in California.

According to Automotive News, Schneider is now CEO of a company called ZEV Station that wants to develop hydrogen fueling station, as well as renewable electric charging and hydrogen fuel stations.

Things aren’t going all that bad for Nikola, though. The company recently brought a prototype of its upcoming Tre electric semi-truck to the United States for testing purposes, and it also launched a video series showcasing its development. It’s also slowly building its US production facility, in Coolidge, Arizona, where the first truck is expected to roll off the production line in mid-2023.