Nel ASA Faces Twin Headwinds: US Tariffs on Electrolysers and a Vacant CEO Chair
Published on 07/28/2026 at 13:21 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The Norwegian hydrogen specialist Nel ASA is navigating one of its most turbulent periods in recent memory, with a leadership vacuum and new trade barriers compounding the pressure on a stock already trading near its 12-month low. Shares slipped 3.22% on Tuesday to €0.1926, leaving the equity just 11% above the February trough of €0.1731 and a staggering 47% below the 2026 peak of €0.3655 reached in late May.
Tariffs Threaten a Booming Order Book
The United States has imposed import duties of between 10% and 12.5% on electrolysers, directly targeting Nel’s most important growth market. The timing could hardly be worse. The company’s second-quarter results, released in mid-July, revealed a dramatic 224% surge in order intake, driven primarily by its Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) segment. Yet that momentum now faces an immediate margin squeeze as the tariffs raise the cost of selling into North America, where Nel competes with domestic manufacturers.
The revenue picture tells a more sobering story. Nel generated 153.41 million Norwegian kroner from customer contracts in the second quarter, an 11.79% decline year-on-year. Losses per share widened from NOK -0.07 to NOK -0.10, and analysts now project a full-year loss of NOK 0.315 per share. The disconnect between a booming order book and shrinking revenue underscores the broader challenge: industrial customers are delaying final investment decisions amid elevated interest rates, a problem that has also plagued US rival Plug Power.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nel ASA?
Leadership Exodus Adds Uncertainty
Compounding the operational difficulties, CEO HĂĄkon Volldal announced his resignation on June 15, 2026, to take the helm at packaging group Elopak. His departure, which followed a settlement agreement with Iwatani Corporation of America that resolved a long-running legal dispute in early June, leaves Nel without a permanent chief executive. Volldal has agreed to a six-month transition period, but the board has yet to name a successor.
The leadership gap comes at a particularly delicate moment. Nel is transitioning from developing its next-generation technology to industrial-scale production. A new pressurised alkaline platform, launched on May 6, is designed to lower the cost of green hydrogen by simplifying project engineering and reducing upfront investment. The company has taken a final investment decision to build up to 1 gigawatt of production capacity at its Herøya site in Norway, backed by the EU Innovation Fund. Guiding that project through the scaling phase without a permanent CEO in place adds a layer of risk that investors are clearly pricing in.
Cavendish Hydrogen and Technical Signals
Nel retains a strategic stake in Cavendish Hydrogen, the refuelling station business it spun off in June 2024. On July 20, Cavendish issued 142,419 new shares to service management incentive programmes, increasing its share capital to 39,701,313 shares. While the move was a routine corporate action, it serves as a reminder that Nel’s valuation remains tied to the performance of its former subsidiary.
Technically, the stock is trading more than 20% below its 50-day moving average of €0.2421, with the relative strength index at 34.8 — hovering near oversold territory. The 30-day annualised volatility of 32.43% reflects the heightened uncertainty. Whether the shares can stabilise depends largely on two factors: how quickly the board appoints a new CEO, and whether the tariff shock proves temporary or becomes a permanent drag on the North American growth story. For now, Nel’s investors are left weighing a record order pipeline against a thicket of headwinds that show no sign of clearing.
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Nel ASA Stock: New Analysis - 28 July
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