Nel ASA's Order Book and a Scottish Assembly Line Are Doing the Talking Until the CEO's Chair Is Filled
Published on 09/13/2026 at 11:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Nel ASA has a date circled: October 21, 2026, when the Norwegian hydrogen specialist reports third-quarter figures. Between now and then, investors have little to work with beyond a partnership signed only last Friday and a share price that has spent the summer drifting.
The stock last changed hands at EUR 0.1950, a level that leaves it roughly 47 percent beneath its 52-week peak of EUR 0.3655 touched at the end of May. Measured from the start of the year, however, the equity is still up 3.3 percent — a reminder that the recent softness follows a firmer stretch. The gap to the 200-day moving average sits at minus 8.5 percent, a sign that the medium-term trend remains bruised even as day-to-day swings have turned modest. With an RSI of 46.8, the shares are neither stretched nor washed out.
A Scottish Partner Takes Over European Assembly
The most tangible operational development came on Friday, when Nel unveiled a framework agreement with Hydrasun, a Scottish firm. Under the arrangement, Hydrasun will handle procurement, integration and manufacturing of balance-of-plant components in Europe for the MC-Series PEM electrolyser platform. Nel keeps PEM stack production concentrated at its own site in Wallingford, Connecticut.
Reuters framed the deal as a move to broaden European assembly capacity for standardised, modular PEM systems, against a backdrop of rising demand for exactly that kind of solution. Nel's own line was that the partnership widens its European delivery options and complements existing integration capacity in the United States. Hydrasun, for its part, plans to invest at its Aberdeen base with backing from Scotland's Just Transition Fund — a commitment Reuters reported could create up to twelve jobs and safeguard eleven more, all at Hydrasun rather than at Nel.
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Splitting the value chain this way — stacks built in the US, assembly and integration done in Europe — is meant to let Nel answer local demand faster without tying up more capital in new plants.
Second-Quarter Damage and the Iwatani Drag
The framework agreement lands after a bruising second quarter. Revenue from customer contracts came in at NOK 153 million, down 12 percent year on year, while EBITDA fell to minus NOK 155 million. A settlement with Japanese partner Iwatani accounted for NOK 70 million of that loss. Strip out the one-off and the operating shortfall would have looked considerably lighter — which leaves shareholders weighing whether the hit was a singular event or a symptom of deeper trouble in the core business.
The order intake pointed the other way. It climbed to NOK 230 million in the quarter, suggesting appetite for electrolyser technology has not collapsed but is simply taking longer to convert into revenue. Nel also collected NOK 118 million from an EU grant supporting commercialisation of its next-generation pressurised alkaline electrolysers, a cash injection that matters while operating profitability is still absent and hydrogen technology remains capital-hungry.
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What October Has to Prove
The coming weeks will show whether the Hydrasun tie-up produces concrete orders or stays structural for now. Management's commentary on European expansion ahead of the report may matter as much as the numbers themselves.
Add a still-unresolved CEO succession to the mix — weak revenue, a loss distorted by the Iwatani settlement, and a vacant corner office — and the picture is one of consolidation. The stronger order intake and the EU funding give bulls something to point to for a medium-term recovery. What the market appears to want is harder evidence that the operational turnaround has actually begun.
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Nel ASA Stock: New Analysis - 13 September
Fresh Nel ASA information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
