Nel ASA's Order Intake Jumps 339% While Revenue Falls 63% — and a New CEO Will Inherit the Gap

Nel ASA has a conversion problem, not a demand problem. The Norwegian hydrogen specialist pulled in NOK 253 million of new orders in the third quarter of 2026 — a 339% surge year on year — yet revenue from customer contracts collapsed 63% to NOK 112 million over the same period. Those figures, released roughly two weeks ago, frame the challenge facing whoever ends up running the company.

The backlog tells a similar story of promise deferred. Nel closed the quarter with NOK 1.314 billion in orders on its books, a substantial foundation for future turnover that has yet to reach the income statement. For investors, the distinction matters: new contracts underwrite tomorrow's business, but they say nothing about whether Nel has turned an operational corner today.

Losses Keep Piling Up

The bottom line offers little comfort. Nel reported an EBITDA loss of NOK 93 million and a net loss of NOK 141 million for the quarter. Stronger demand on its own, then, is no proof of recovery — a credible improvement would require those commercial opportunities to show up in earnings.

The lag between signing and shipping is not abstract. Nel Hydrogen US recently booked an order worth an estimated USD 12 million from an unnamed American technology company, covering several containerised PEM electrolyser solutions plus associated services, with delivery slated for 2027. The customer is described as a global technology firm headquartered in the United States. That timeline illustrates precisely why an order book should not be conflated with immediate revenue.

Not every announcement carries the same weight, either. A separate agreement with Rheinmetall, signed around two weeks ago, is a non-binding letter of intent covering a feasibility study into decentralised production of renewable hydrogen and synthetic fuels. It contains neither a firm order nor a binding project commitment, placing it among possible prospects rather than secured business.

A Handover at the Top

The leadership transition lands squarely in this operational in-between period. Morten Holum, currently CEO of Hexagon Purus, has been named to succeed Håkon Volldal and is due to take over no later than 1 May 2027. Volldal is set to step back from his operational leadership duties at the end of October 2026.

An interim arrangement bridges the gap. CFO Kjell Christian Bjørnsen will serve as interim CEO from 1 November 2026, while Torbjørn Berg, previously VP Finance, is to take temporary charge of the finance function.

A new face at the helm is no substitute for operational progress. Nel's investment case now hinges on whether that NOK 1.314 billion backlog converts into revenue and whether the losses shrink in the process. The order momentum supplies the opportunity; the coming quarterly results must supply the evidence.