A fully dedicated electrolyser company

“Nel has almost a century of experience developing electrolysers and has installed thousands of systems around the world. Building on our unparalleled track record, we will, from now on, spend one hundred percent of our capacity and hydrogen know-how on developing and delivering the most reliable and energy-efficient electrolysers,” says Nel’s CEO, Håkon Volldal.

Nel’s CEO says this on the same day Nel’s former Fueling division was spun out and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange as Cavendish Hydrogen. Volldal sends his best wishes to his former colleagues, who now focus on developing hydrogen fueling equipment for heavy-duty vehicles.

“Cavendish has a solid starting point with lots of relevant experience from the light-duty fueling market, a diverse and strong customer base, a competent organization and now also a dedicated board of directors. I am convinced they can succeed, and I wish them the best of luck,” says Volldal.

After the spin-off, Nel will have approximately 450 employees in Norway and the US. These resources will dedicate all their time to delivering on Nels’s ambition to offer the most energy-efficient and reliable electrolyzers in the industry at scale.

In addition to further developing and improving its existing PEM and atmospheric alkaline electrolysers, Nel is investing heavily in next-generation pressurized alkaline and PEM technologies. The development of next-generation PEM electrolysers, a collaboration utilizing the deep hydrogen knowledge in Nel and General Motors’ R&D departments, is progressing rapidly. At the same time, Nel’s game-changing redesign of the pressurized alkaline concept has reached the prototype stage. Nel has also secured funding from the US Department of Energy to further develop its AEM electrolyser technology.

Recently, Nel signed a technology licensing agreement with India’s largest private corporation, Reliance Industries. Through this agreement, Nel will gain access to a rapidly growing market and cater to Reliance’s captive demand for electrolysers globally. Nel has also partnered with a handful of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies to offer turnkey 100 MW building blocks. These will be available on the market shortly.

During the last year, Nel has taken large steps to prepare the company for further growth. The annual production capacity at the fully automated electrode manufacturing facility in Herøya, Norway, has doubled from 500 MW to 1 GW. In addition, Nel is scaling up its annual production capacity to 500 MW at its PEM manufacturing facility in Wallingford, Connecticut. As in Herøya, all major production steps at the Wallingford facility will be automated. Moreover, several production processes previously carried out by subcontractors will be insourced and optimized. The company has also secured about USD 170 million in support from the US Department of Energy and the state of Michigan for its planned gigafactory in Detroit, where Nel will manufacture next-generation PEM and pressurized alkaline electrolysers.

The company’s first quarter 2024 results showed that Nel is on the right path toward black numbers, and the alkaline division achieved an important milestone, reaching a positive EBITDA.
“Our revenues and EBITDA continue to improve, showing that the business model works with scale,” Volldal said when he presented the results.