Nel ASA Chairman's Personal Bet Signals Confidence as Defence Angle Opens New Front

Nel ASA narrows Q1 net loss to 144M kroner, stock up 21% in month. Chairman buys shares, new alkaline platform due May 6, and EU grant of 135M euros supports growth.

The hydrogen sector has rarely been short of narrative shifts, but Nel ASA’s latest chapter blends cost-cutting progress, a fresh geopolitical pitch, and a chairman putting his own money on the line. Arvid Moss, the company’s board chair, acquired 100,000 shares at an average price of 2.2547 Norwegian kroner — his first publicly disclosed purchase — just days after a mixed set of first-quarter numbers landed. The timing is hard to dismiss as coincidence.

The stock has already rallied roughly 21 percent over the past month, reaching 0.23 euros, and added nearly seven percent on Monday alone. That puts it within striking distance of the 52-week high of 0.25 euros. Year-to-date, the shares have climbed around 22 percent.

Losses Narrow as Restructuring Bites

Nel’s net loss for the first quarter of 2026 shrank to 144 million kroner from 179 million a year earlier. The EBITDA deficit improved by 15 million kroner to minus 100 million, while personnel costs fell by more than a fifth — evidence that the restructuring programme is beginning to deliver. Revenue slipped five percent to 148 million kroner, but the picture varied sharply by division.

The alkaline electrolyser segment posted six percent revenue growth, while the PEM unit suffered a 14 percent decline. The order intake, however, told a starker story: it plunged 73 percent to just 85 million kroner, dragging the total order backlog down 24 percent to roughly 1.1 billion kroner. CEO Håkon Volldal acknowledged the slow start to the year but stressed that project execution was becoming more efficient, with margins improving as a result.

Liquidity remains comfortable at around 1.4 billion kroner. Management expects that to cover the full year, and an additional EU grant of 11 million euros is due in the second quarter.

A New Product and a New Narrative

All eyes are now on May 6, when Nel will unveil its new pressure-based alkaline platform. Volldal has described the technology as a “quantum leap,” claiming it can cut investment costs by 40 to 60 percent and operating expenses by 10 to 20 percent. The EU Innovation Fund has already committed up to 135 million euros to industrialise the platform, enough to build annual production capacity of 4 GW.

One risk lingers: the two 500 MW production lines for atmospheric alkaline electrolysis at Herøya in Norway remain idle. A writedown on those assets could follow the launch of the new platform.

Alongside the product push, Nel is repositioning itself as a player in energy security and defence. Volldal used the quarterly presentation to highlight the growing importance of decentralised energy production and military-adjacent applications, framing hydrogen as a strategic tool for governments. The market appears to have taken note.

US Order Provides Rare Bright Spot

The quiet first quarter was partly offset by news from across the Atlantic. Nel’s US subsidiary secured a follow-on order worth approximately $7 million from Mesure Process for container-based PEM electrolysers. The equipment will be deployed in a European hydrogen project starting in 2027, supplying hydrogen refuelling stations and industrial customers.

Volldal also indicated that a new purchase order for the PEM segment had already been signed in the second quarter, with more expected by the time the half-year report lands on July 15. That date will serve as the first real test of whether the product launch and strategic pivot have translated into tangible demand.