The Nikola Motor Company has selected Buckeye, Arizona, for its hydrogen-electric semi-truck manufacturing headquarters facility. The new facility will be located on the west side of Phoenix and will bring more than $1 billion in capital investment to the region by 2024.

Nikola Motor Company CEO and founder Trevor Milton says they will begin transferring their R&D and headquarters to Arizona immediately and hope to complete this by October.

Development of the one million square foot manufacturing plant on a 500-acre plot is projected to begin by the end of 2019. The site is at one of the entrances to Douglas Ranch/Trillium, a new master planned community projected to ultimately be home to more than 300,000 residents.

Milton says Nikola selected this location due to a number of factors, including the state‘s pro-business environment, engineering schools, educated workforce and geographic location that provides direct access to major markets.

“Arizona has the workforce to support our growth and a governor who was an entrepreneur himself. They understood what 2,000 jobs would mean to their cities and state,” he says.

Governor Doug Ducey says the new technology will revolutionise transportation.

“We‘re very proud it will be engineered right here in Arizona. I thank Nikola‘s CEO Trevor Milton and his entire team for this significant investment in our state.”

Nikola Motor Company already has 8,000 of its electric semi-trucks on pre-order.