The Badger Pickup already stands out among its competition by being a fuel cell vehicle. However, the uniqueness of this FCV doesn’t end there. As it is commonly know there is only one byproduct of hydrogen fuel cells: water. Trevor Milton, the CEO of Nikola Motor, recently tweeted that the company is actually planning to repurpose that water to be used as the occupants personal water supply.
Milton has even taken things to the next level by reaching out to Soda Stream USA to figure out how a soda machine might be incorporated as well. Although exciting and seemingly a fun addition to the FCV there are mixed opinions on how safe the water actually is to drink. The water that results from a working hydrogen fuel cell does not contain any minerals normally found in water. It is distilled water and there are still people on the fence about whether or not you should drink it.
It also should not be forgotten that it has been scientifically proven that distilled water absorbs minerals from any surfaces it touches. For example, when stored in plastic, it tends to pick up some traces of the material making it less than ideal for safe drinking water.
It is clear that Nikola doesn’t want it’s Badger to get lost in the sea of upcoming unique and impressive electric pickups, such as the Tesla Cybertruck, the Rivian R1T, or the Bollinger B2. But it appears as though this is a bit of a publicity stunt in order to get the word out about the company’s upcoming FCV. We have yet to see a single working prototype from the company but the pre-order books have already opened with its expected retail price at about $60,000.