Nel ASA’s €135 Million EU Grant and New Electrolyser Platform Face a July 15 Reckoning

Nel ASA launches a cost-cutting electrolyser but faces a 73% order slump and stock decline; EU grants and a US utility deal offer support.

Nel ASA has spent eight years developing a next-generation electrolyser that slashes costs by up to 60% and cuts energy consumption below 50 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of hydrogen. The Norwegian hydrogen specialist launched the platform this month, and the stock promptly fell 17% from its May high. That disconnect between technological ambition and market reality is the story investors are grappling with as they await the company’s half-year results on July 15.

The shares closed last week at €0.26, roughly 5% lower than seven days earlier. Despite the recent pullback, the stock remains up about 36% year-to-date — a rally that began well before the platform launch and has since cooled. The relative strength index now sits near 36, a level that typically signals oversold conditions and could draw buyers when Oslo trading resumes.

The Technology That’s Supposed to Change the Game

Nel’s new pressure alkaline electrolyser operates at 15 bar, reducing the need for downstream compression. The company claims turnkey costs for a 25-megawatt plant come in at under $1,450 per kilowatt — a fraction of the $3,000 or more common across the industry. The system is fully modular and skid-based, designed to cut installation complexity and floor space requirements dramatically.

Full-scale testing has been completed at Nel’s Herøya facility in Norway, where initial production capacity is set at 1 gigawatt annually with plans to scale to 4 gigawatts. The industrialisation process is already underway.

The Order Book Tells a Different Story

Behind the technical milestones lies a stark operational picture. Nel’s first-quarter order intake collapsed 73% year-on-year to just 85 million Norwegian kroner, while the total order backlog shrank appreciably. Revenue edged lower and the operating loss came in at 100 million kroner. A major headcount reduction has stabilised the cost base, but the company’s liquidity — roughly 1.4 billion kroner — is only sufficient to fund operations through the end of 2026.

Chief executive Håkon Volldal is actively negotiating projects in the 50-to-150-megawatt range across Europe and North America. So far, those talks have not translated into signed contracts.

EU Cash and a Utility Debut Offer Near-Term Support

Nel recently secured a grant of up to €135 million from the EU Innovation Fund, covering as much as 60% of eligible costs. The first tranche of €11 million is expected in the second quarter of 2026 — a concrete liquidity injection that remains more than a year away.

A more immediate milestone came from the United States, where the Douglas County Public Utility District in Washington state has ordered a PEM electrolyser to convert surplus hydropower into green hydrogen. It marks the first time a public utility has operated a Nel system. The stacks will be manufactured at Nel’s Wallingford, Connecticut facility, with commissioning slated for the first half of 2027.

Chief commercial officer Todd Cartwright noted a shift in customer demand: buyers are increasingly seeking solutions that are simpler to install and easier to finance, with interest growing in industrial, infrastructure and resilience-driven applications, including energy security and defence-related uses.

What July 15 Must Deliver

Nel expects to receive the first tranche of EU funding in the coming weeks, but the real test arrives with the half-year report on July 15. By then, management must demonstrate that the new platform is translating into commercial orders — not just generating headlines. Every contract announcement between now and that date will be scrutinised as evidence that the technology can fill a depleted order book.

An insider purchase by the board chair has signalled confidence in the strategy, and Nel’s US subsidiary secured a multimillion-dollar container solutions order. But with the stock trading 17% below its 52-week high of €0.32, investors are demanding hard proof that the pipeline of 50-to-150-megawatt projects in Europe and North America will convert into revenue — and that the €135 million EU grant will help bridge the gap to profitability rather than merely extend the runway.