Nel ASA's Order Book Swells While Revenue Shrinks — Rheinmetall Talks Add a New Dimension
Published on 11/02/2026 at 13:41 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Nel ASA is winning far more business than it is currently billing for. That gap — between a tripling order intake and a revenue line that has more than halved — is the central puzzle facing the Norwegian hydrogen specialist, and it now falls to an incoming chief executive to close it.
Fresh orders at the electrolyser maker climbed 339% year on year to NOK 253 million in the third quarter of 2026, figures released roughly three weeks ago show. Revenue from customer contracts, by contrast, tumbled 63% to NOK 112 million over the same period. The order backlog grew 34% to NOK 1,314 million.
The bottom line offered little comfort. EBITDA came in at minus NOK 93 million, and net loss for the quarter reached NOK 141 million, widening from the prior year.
Why bookings and billings tell different stories
For investors, the distinction matters. Order intake and backlog describe demand; they do not describe money already earned. A healthier pipeline can lay the groundwork for a recovery, but on its own it does not prove that the underlying business has turned.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nel ASA?
That is why judging Nel purely on the strength of its order momentum would obscure an earnings picture that remains under pressure. The two data sets are not contradictory — they simply measure different things. What matters now is whether the company can convert its fuller order book into revenue and, crucially, into improved margins.
Rheinmetall memorandum adds a strategic option
Alongside the quarterly update, Nel signed a letter of intent with Rheinmetall to explore decentralised production of renewable fuels. The proposed collaboration would pair Nel's electrolysers with Rheinmetall's Giga-PtX concept.
The agreement sketches a possible partnership rather than booked business, and should not be conflated with revenue already achieved. In the same vein, a US order reported around three weeks ago rounds out the demand side: Nel Hydrogen US secured a contract worth roughly USD 12 million from an unnamed global technology company headquartered in the United States. The deal covers multiple containerised PEM electrolysers plus services, with delivery expected in 2027.
Nel ASA at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
New leadership inherits the conversion challenge
The management transition lands squarely in this period of mixed signals. Morten Holum is slated to succeed Håkon Volldal as chief executive, with his start expected no later than 1 May 2027. Torbjørn Berg, previously VP Finance, has taken over as interim chief financial officer.
A change at the top does not, by itself, bridge the distance between a growing order book and shrinking revenue. The yardstick for Nel remains operational execution: the sales generated from orders already won, and the contribution those sales make to the bottom line. Only there will it become clear whether stronger demand carries real economic weight.
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