ITM Power: From MSCI Peak to State Stake – A Stock Caught Between Promise and Pain

ITM Power shares tumble 40% in 30 days despite Linde board appointment, Deutsche Bahn MoU, and upcoming CMA decision on £46.5M grant.

The British electrolyser maker ITM Power has packed more news into a single week than many companies manage in a quarter: a new board member from its largest shareholder Linde, a research tie-up with Deutsche Bahn, and a looming decision on a £46.5 million government grant. Yet the shares have done little but sink – down roughly 15% over the past seven days and more than 40% over the past 30, closing Friday at €1.30.

The stock touched a 52-week high of €2.58 on 29 May, the same day it was added to the MSCI United Kingdom Small Cap Index, then promptly entered a classic "sell the fact" slide. That peak now looks distant – the current price is almost exactly half of it, and about 26% below the 50-day moving average of €1.76. The relative strength index at 36.6 points to waning momentum, while annualised 30-day volatility of nearly 99% underlines how rough the trading in hydrogen names remains.

A Linde veteran takes a board seat

On 24 June, Oleg Williamson joined ITM Power as a non-executive director, replacing Matthias von Plotho, who had served as Linde's nominated representative since January 2025. Williamson, who joined Linde in 2022 as executive director and assistant treasurer, brings a finance-heavy résumé built across senior treasury roles at large industrials on three continents. Importantly, ITM disclosed that he held no shares in the company at the time of his appointment. The move signals that Linde intends to keep its strategic stake in ITM actively monitored – but it is not, in itself, a revenue or funding event.

Deutsche Bahn study kicks off a day earlier

Just one day before the board change, ITM and DB Systemtechnik, the engineering arm of Deutsche Bahn, signed a memorandum of understanding on 23 June to explore green hydrogen applications for rail transport, mobility, and critical infrastructure. The first deliverable is a jointly funded FEED study – a front-end engineering design that will assess technical configuration, site integration, and commercial terms for deploying ITM's electrolysers at Deutsche Bahn locations.

The partnership builds on an earlier agreement between the two companies from March 2025. Neither side is yet committing to firm orders or revenues; the study is a preparatory step. For a market hungry for concrete commercial milestones, it was not enough to lift sentiment.

Government money flows in – and a grant decision looms

Behind the weekly news flow sits a deeper transformation in ITM's shareholder base. During the second quarter of 2026, Great British Energy – the state investment vehicle – acquired a 10.4% stake for £40 million, making the British government the company's second-largest shareholder. That capital is earmarked to fund the industrialisation of ITM's proprietary "Chronos" technology and provide much-needed financial runway.

Now all eyes are on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which must rule by 30 June on a separate £46.5 million state grant for automating ITM's Sheffield factory. Approval would allow the company to formally expand its annual production capacity to one gigawatt – a key step in its growth narrative. ITM itself has guided for revenue of £40 million to £43 million in the current financial year, representing roughly 35% year-on-year growth.

Technical picture offers little comfort – but context matters

Despite the brutal one-month correction, the longer-term chart tells a different story. From its February nadir of €0.65, ITM shares have nearly doubled, and year-to-date they still show a gain of about 79%. The sell-off has been violent but has not erased the broader recovery from the trough.

The week's two announcements – a governance tweak and an exploratory partnership – landed with a thud because the market's expectations have ratcheted higher. MoUs and board rotations no longer move the needle; what investors want now are binding orders, project milestones, or a formal update on financial guidance. The FEED study with Deutsche Bahn could eventually provide that first data point, but only once its results are in hand. Meanwhile, the CMA's verdict on the Sheffield grant will determine whether the state-funded capacity expansion can proceed at the pace ITM envisions. For a stock that has been cut in half in a month, the coming days may prove decisive.