Nel ASA Hits 52-Week High on Modular Electrolyser Launch as Orders Remain in Steep Decline

Nel ASA shares surge 14% to €0.33 after unveiling CompassH2-A+ electrolyser at World Hydrogen Summit, but weak Q1 earnings and order slump raise sustainability concerns.

Nel ASA shares soared to a fresh 52-week high of €0.33 on Friday, surging more than 14% in heavy trading on Tradegate with over 11 million shares changing hands by midday. The rally was fuelled by the unveiling of a new electrolyser platform at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, even though the Norwegian company issued no official press release about the event. Retail investors piled in, pushing the stock some 63% higher over the past month and lifting year-to-date gains to roughly 73%.

The catalyst came from a joint presentation with Samsung E&A, where the two groups introduced the CompassH2-A+. Based on Nel’s pressure alkaline technology, the platform consists of modular 25-MW container units that can be scaled up to 100 MW, producing around 40 tonnes of high-purity hydrogen per day. A key selling point is its compact footprint — roughly 7,500 square metres, about 50% less than many competing systems. The hydrogen exits the electrolyser at 15 barg, reducing the need for downstream compression and cutting capital costs for large green hydrogen projects.

Equally important is the financing structure. Samsung E&A is offering a single-performance-wrap guarantee that consolidates liability for stacks, peripherals and utilities under one contract, removing the fragmented warranty arrangements that have often stalled final investment decisions. A long-term service agreement covering operations and scheduled stack swaps is also included, a move CEO Håkon Volldal said makes renewable hydrogen “scalable and competitive.” Nel had already commercialised its next-generation pressure alkaline system in early May, targeting turnkey costs of under $1,450 per kilowatt for a 25-MW installation — roughly half the industry average.

Yet the technological promise stands in stark contrast to the company’s recent financial performance. First-quarter customer revenues slid to 148 million Norwegian kroner, while EBITDA remained in the red at minus 100 million kroner, albeit slightly improved from a year earlier. More alarming, new orders collapsed 73% year-on-year, dragging the total order backlog to around 1.1 billion kroner. The only bright spot was a modest $7 million award for the PEM business in April. The current rally, therefore, rests almost entirely on hopes that the new platform will soon translate into meaningful commercial contracts.

Nel does have breathing room: a cash buffer of over 1.4 billion kroner gives management enough runway to scale production, and a €135 million grant from the EU Innovation Fund is earmarked to expand serial manufacturing capacity to one gigawatt per year. For now, the buying pressure from retail traders has established the stock near its 52-week peak, but the longer-term trajectory hinges on converting technology milestones into signed orders — something the market has yet to see in any meaningful volume.