Nel ASA Wins the Orders but Not Yet the Revenue as Interim Team Takes Charge
Published on 11/01/2026 at 18:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Nel ASA has a demand problem in only one direction: customers are signing up faster than the company can convert those commitments into cash. The Norwegian hydrogen specialist's third-quarter 2026 report, released roughly two weeks ago, lays out that mismatch in hard numbers — and it is now the central test for a management team in transition.
A widening gap between bookings and billings
Revenue from customer contracts fell 63% to NOK 112 million in the quarter. Order intake, by contrast, jumped 339% to NOK 253 million, lifting the backlog to NOK 1.314 million at period end. Those are encouraging figures for future business, but they are not delivered revenue, and they do not yet answer when — or whether — the orders will show up in the top line.
The loss picture keeps that question front and centre. Nel reported EBITDA of minus NOK 93 million and a net loss of NOK 141 million for the quarter. Cash and liquid funds stood at NOK 1.078 million at the close of the period, a buffer that sits alongside a still-negative operating result. Order growth on its own, in other words, does not signal financial relief.
Two technologies, two very different quarters
The revenue decline was far from uniform. PEM revenue climbed 65% to NOK 89 million, but alkaline sales collapsed 91% to NOK 23 million. The PEM advance was nowhere near enough to offset the alkaline slump, and nothing in the figures points to an even recovery across both lines. For investors, the mix matters as much as the totals: a bigger backlog says little about the timing of revenue recognition or about future profitability.
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Capacity is not the same as demand
Nel is pressing ahead with its first automated production line for pressurised alkaline electrolysers at Herøya. The build-out is staged — 500 MW of annual capacity by the end of 2026, then 1 GW in 2027. Planned manufacturing capability, though, is a different quantity from secured customer demand. How order intake and plant utilisation develop together will be the measure that counts.
A firm order and a non-binding handshake
Two recent project announcements deserve to be weighed separately, because they carry very different degrees of commitment. The confirmed order to Nel Hydrogen US covers several containerised PEM electrolysers plus related services, is worth about USD 12 million, and is scheduled for delivery in 2027. The customer is a US-based global technology company that has not been named.
The memorandum of understanding signed with Rheinmetall a little over three weeks ago is explicitly non-binding. The two firms intend to assess the technical and commercial feasibility of decentralised synthetic fuel production based on renewable hydrogen, with Norway as an initial focus. Nel would contribute electrolyser technology; Rheinmetall would bring its Giga-PtX concept and system-integration expertise. Any further steps depend on reviews and agreements still to come — no firm order can be inferred from it.
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New hands on the controls
The leadership change lands squarely in this period of mixed signals. Chief financial officer Kjell Christian Bjørnsen takes over as interim head of the company effective today. Morten Holum is slated to become CEO no later than 1 May 2027, succeeding Håkon Volldal, with Torbjørn Berg stepping in temporarily to run finance.
The yardstick for the incoming team is straightforward. A rising order book has to translate into operating business, production plans have to be matched to demand, and losses have to be contained. Until growing orders stop coinciding with sharply lower customer revenue and red ink, an operational turnaround remains work to be done — not a result already achieved.
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