Nel ASA Bolsters Leadership to Tackle Project Delivery Challenges

Norwegian electrolyzer manufacturer Nel ASA has moved to strengthen its executive team with a new appointment aimed at resolving a critical structural issue: delayed project deliveries. The company has created the new role of Chief Project Officer (CPO), a position it did not previously have, and has named industry veteran Birgitte Nordvik to fill it. Her appointment is set to take effect in December 2025.

This strategic hire comes as the company faces ongoing scrutiny over its operational execution capabilities. Past customer experiences involving postponed deliveries of electrolyzer systems have highlighted a weakness that has impacted confidence in Nel's ability to fulfill orders reliably.

The company's third-quarter 2025 results, released alongside the leadership news, underscore the challenging market environment confronting the hydrogen sector.

• Revenue from customer contracts stood at 303 million Norwegian kroner (NOK), representing a 17% decline compared to the same period last year.
• Total revenue reached 349 million NOK.
• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) showed a loss of 37 million NOK. While still negative, this marks an improvement from the 90 million NOK EBITDA loss reported in Q3 2024.
• The net loss for the quarter was 85 million NOK.

As part of ongoing cost-optimization efforts, Nel's headcount decreased year-over-year from 430 to 354 employees. The firm's liquidity position remained robust at 1.76 billion NOK as of the reporting date, further bolstered by a 2025 capital raise that injected an additional 349 million NOK.

New CPO Brings Decades of Energy Sector Expertise

Birgitte Nordvik is tasked with streamlining Nel's project delivery and supply chain management. She brings several decades of relevant experience from major energy corporations, including Shell, Equinor, Aker Solutions, Petroleum Geo-Services, and Aker Energy. In her most recent role as Vice President at Aker Energy, she was responsible for contract and procurement management.

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Her professional background is squarely focused on procurement, contract administration, and the execution of large-scale energy projects—precisely the areas where Nel has identified a need for improvement. Nordvik holds a Master's degree in Petroleum Economics and Project & Contract Management from the University of Stavanger.

Strong Order Intake Contrasts with Execution Concerns

The leadership reinforcement coincides with a series of significant contract announcements in the fourth quarter of 2025, demonstrating sustained market demand for Nel's technology:

• On October 7, the company secured an order from H2 Energy for a containerized 2.5 MW PEM electrolyzer destined for Switzerland.
• A major contract followed on November 5 from HyFuel AS and Kaupanes Hydrogen AS, valued at over $50 million, for two 20 MW electrolyzer plants in Norway. This marks Nel's second-largest firm order to date.
• On November 10, Nel was selected as the technology partner for GreenH's hydrogen projects in Kristiansund and Slagentangen.

The company's order backlog was reported at 984 million NOK as of the end of September 2025.

Industry Awaits Final Investment Decisions

The broader green hydrogen industry continues to grapple with postponed final investment decisions for major projects. This environment creates planning uncertainty for equipment suppliers like Nel, even as customer expectations for reliable, on-schedule delivery intensify.

Investors and analysts will be watching closely when Nel reports its fourth-quarter 2025 results in late February 2026. These figures may provide early indications of whether the new executive appointment is beginning to yield operational improvements. The central challenge for Nel is no longer winning orders, but demonstrating it can execute them efficiently and on time.