Hyliion Slows Cash Burn And Reports First, Albeit Small, Revenue

Hyliion Holdings reported the first revenue in its young public life and said it took 100 orders for its extended-range Hypertruck ERX that runs on natural gas and electricity. It took another 325 nonbinding reservations.

The $200,000 in revenue was about a fifth of what analysts expected. Shortages due to the ongoing supply chain crisis pushed some deliveries of Hyliion's first product, the electric power-boosting Hybrid eX, into the current quarter.

The Cedar Park, Texas-based startup said the $557 million on its balance sheet, including $258.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, is sufficient to get through launch in late 2023. It had $600 million at the end of the third quarter, mostly from proceeds of its merger with Tortoise Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, in October 2020.

Watch now: Cummins, Meritor and Hyliion, oh my

The company projected full-year 2022 revenue of $2 million to $3 million from sales. Total operating expenses are expected to range from $135 million to $145 million for commercialization of the eX and the serial hybrid Hypertruck ERX.

Pressing its case

Hyliion HYLN is pressing the case that the Hypertruck ERX, powered by a natural gas generator that creates electricity for up to 75 miles of pure zero-emissions electric driving with a total range of 1,000 miles, is a better alternative to plug-in electric trucks capable of 100 to 200 miles before needing to be recharged.

"We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from fleets regarding the Hypertruck ERX's performance and drivability," Dennis Gallagher, Hyliion's chief operating officer, said in a press release. "Fleets have also shared examples of how the Hypertruck ERX technology addresses infrastructure hurdles and range anxiety associated with plug-in electric trucks."

The Cummins take

Speculation around Hyliion's future arose this week when Cummins Inc. CMI announced a $3.7 billion cash purchase of Tier 1 supplier Meritor Inc. MTOR Former Meritor CEO Jay Craig joined Hyliion's board of directors this month, and the company has hired Cheri Lantz as chief strategy officer, a role she previously held at Meritor.

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Cummins said one of its key reasons for purchasing Meritor was to gain access to its electronic axle technology, which Hyliion uses on the ERX. 

Amy Davis, the president of Cummins New Power business, where Meritor's axle technology will reside within the $24 billion company, told FreightWaves the Hyliion technology is "interesting" but probably a bridge technology to full electrification.

"I think that we should be looking at every way to get some decarbonization now," she said.  "What I think though is the costs quickly won't add up because of the amount of extra batteries that you need to add. As battery prices come down, the question is how long is that going to be commercially better than a full battery electric or a fuel cell electric?

"I think it's an interesting bridge though. I love all the bridge technologies. But I think it's like a window."

Cummins also could be closing that window on Hyliion's eX Hybrid, the add-on electric boost for a diesel or natural gas truck generating all of Hyliion's current sales. Cummins will begin producing and selling a 15-liter natural gas engine in the U.S. in 2024. While natural gas provides less torque than diesel, the new engine claims up to  500 horsepower and 1,850 pounds of torque.

Related articles:

Will Hyliion's approach to electric trucks make it past the checkered flag?

Hyliion delays Hypertruck ERX hybrid program, blames supply chain crisis

Truck Tech: Hypertruck first drive edition

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Alan Adler.

Image credit: FreightWaves

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