Nel ASA Builds a 1 GW Production Base While Its Top Line Shrinks
Published on 11/03/2026 at 15:12 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Nel ASA is spending heavily on capacity and reshuffling its executive suite at a moment when the gap between what it books and what it bills has rarely been wider. The Norwegian hydrogen specialist's third-quarter 2026 report laid bare that split: order intake surged, revenue collapsed, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization stayed deep in the red.
Order intake for the quarter came in at NOK 253 million, a jump of 339%. The order backlog stood at NOK 1,314 million. Those figures sketch a demand picture that looks nothing like the income statement, where revenue from customer contracts fell 63% year on year to NOK 112 million. EBITDA printed at NOK -93 million. Management pinned the top-line weakness on soft activity in the alkaline business.
PEM Carries the Order Book
One division did the heavy lifting on the demand side. PEM revenue climbed 65% to NOK 89 million, and the segment pulled in NOK 245 million of new orders — meaning the bulk of group bookings originated there. That concentration cuts both ways: it gives Nel a credible growth engine, but it also shows that strength in one unit is not yet enough to offset weakness across the group.
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A contract unveiled roughly three weeks ago fits the pattern. An unnamed global technology company headquartered in the US ordered containerized PEM electrolyzers plus associated services worth about USD 12 million, with delivery slated for 2027. The win supports the medium-term outlook without offering any evidence of a near-term revenue turn.
Herøya Ramp-Up Sets the Scale
Alongside the quarterly release, Nel detailed the build-out of its first production line for pressurized alkaline technology at Herøya. The plan calls for 500 MW of annual capacity by the end of 2026, followed by an upgrade to 1 GW per year in 2027. These are manufacturing targets, not booked sales — a distinction that matters when the order book is swelling and billings are contracting.
Interim Chiefs Hold the Fort
The leadership transition announced about three weeks ago frames all of this. Morten Holum has been named to succeed Håkon Volldal as chief executive, taking the post no later than May 1, 2027. Until then, CFO Kjell Christian Bjørnsen will run the company on an interim basis, while Torbjørn Berg, previously VP Finance, steps into the CFO role in the same temporary capacity.
A new CEO and a bigger factory do not by themselves fix a P&L. For investors, the yardstick is straightforward: orders must convert into deliveries, deliveries into revenue, and revenue into a positive operating result. The PEM momentum and the Herøya expansion give Nel the raw materials for that turnaround. Whether the company can turn them into earnings is what the coming quarterly reports will have to show.
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