Nel ASA's Balancing Act: A CEO Departure, a Legal Settlement, and a Gigawatt-Scale Bet
Published on 08/22/2026 at 14:22 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The Norwegian hydrogen equipment maker Nel ASA is navigating one of the most consequential stretches in its recent history, with a leadership transition, a costly legal settlement, and an ambitious manufacturing expansion all converging at once. The company's share price, however, tells a story of persistent investor caution.
The stock closed Friday's session at €0.1960, marking a weekly decline of 3.2 percent. That leaves the shares roughly 46 percent below their 52-week high of €0.3655, reached back in May. Still, the equity has managed to hold about 13 percent above the yearly low set in late February, offering a sliver of consolation to long-suffering shareholders.
Leadership Vacuum Takes Shape
The most pressing overhang for investors is the question of who will steer the company through its next phase. Mid-August brought clarity on that front: packaging group Elopak officially confirmed that Nel's chief executive, Håkon Volldal, will become its new CEO, with his tenure there commencing no later than January 1, 2027.
Volldal had already announced his intention to step down from Nel back in June and is currently serving out his six-month notice period. Board chairman Arvid Moss has moved to reassure stakeholders that the company's long-term strategy remains intact, insisting that manufacturing and technology targets stay unchanged throughout the transition. The market, though, has yet to fully embrace that message.
A Quarter of Contradictions
The second-quarter results, released in early August, laid bare the operational tensions at play. Customer contract revenues slipped to 153 million Norwegian kroner, a 12 percent drop year-on-year. The bottom line showed an EBITDA loss of 155 million kroner, a figure that includes a 70 million kroner settlement payment to Iwatani Corporation of America, resolving a legal dispute with the Japanese partner.
Managing operational risk is just as critical in the workplace as it is for a company's balance sheet — and many employers underestimate the gaps in their own safety documentation. A free Risk Assessment Toolkit with 41 ready-to-use checklists helps you identify and record hazards before they become costly incidents. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit
That legal overhang prompted JPMorgan to trim its price target on Nel to 1.80 Norwegian kroner in early August, while maintaining a "Neutral" rating on the stock.
Yet the order intake tells a far more encouraging story. New orders surged 224 percent to 230 million kroner during the quarter, pushing the total backlog to 1.21 billion kroner by period-end. The company also sits on a cash pile of 1.33 billion kroner and carries virtually no debt, giving it ample runway to fund its expansion plans while the search for a new chief executive unfolds.
The PA-Series Pivot
At the heart of Nel's growth strategy sits the PA-Series, a new generation of pressurised alkaline electrolyzers that the company brought to market in May 2026. The pitch to customers is straightforward: turnkey systems for a 25-megawatt plant at a cost of under $1,450 per kilowatt, a price point that would meaningfully lower the levelised cost of hydrogen production.
To produce these systems at scale, Nel is expanding its manufacturing footprint at Herøya in Norway. Following the final investment decision in December 2025, the company initially targets an annual capacity of one gigawatt at the site, with ambitions to eventually scale that to four gigawatts per year. The European Union is backing the build-out with up to €135 million from its Innovation Fund — support that makes the pace of expansion financially viable.
India as a Second Engine
Beyond the Norwegian expansion, Nel is leaning on its licensing arrangement with Reliance Industries as a complementary revenue stream. The Indian conglomerate secured an exclusive right in May 2024 to manufacture Nel's alkaline electrolyzers, and can also deploy the technology for its own facilities outside India. For Nel, the deal generates recurring licensing income without requiring additional capital investment, while giving the company access to Indian manufacturing muscle and market reach.
What Comes Next
The next inflection point arrives in October, when Nel reports third-quarter figures. Investors will be watching closely to see whether the recent surge in order intake translates into actual revenue — and whether the PA-Series is gaining commercial traction. The company's ability to convert its 1.2 billion kroner backlog into top-line growth will be the clearest signal yet of whether the strategy is working, even as the search for a new leader continues in the background.
