Clearstream Banking S.A. holds nearly 68% of Nel ASA’s outstanding shares, or about 1.24 billion shares — a level of institutional concentration that underscores the depth of passive and custody ownership in the Norwegian hydrogen specialist. The real strategic weight, however, comes from Samsung E&A, which commands a 9.09% stake and sits as the company’s most significant investor. CACEIS Bank and SIX SIS AG round out the top holders with 1.77% and 1.45% respectively, according to the shareholder update published on 1 June 2026.
That ownership structure provides a stable base, but the stock’s trajectory this year has been anything but steady. From a 52-week low of €0.18 in March, Nel’s shares surged more than 74% year-to-date, peaking at €0.36 in late May. The catalyst: anticipation around the commercial launch of a next-generation pressurised
Despite the sell-off, the technology behind the new platform is genuinely noteworthy. Nel says the turnkey full-system cost for a 25-megawatt installation is under $1,450 per kilowatt, delivering hydrogen at 30 bar pressure with 99.99% purity. For context, many industrial hydrogen projects today run at around $3,000 per kilowatt. The new system effectively halves that figure, and Nel expects the cost advantage to widen further for plants above 25 megawatts. The industrialisation roadmap calls for Herøya’s capacity to reach 1 gigawatt initially, with a path to 4 GW, backed by an EU Innovation Fund grant of up to €135 million covering as much as 60% of eligible costs.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nel ASA?
The first-quarter numbers, however, tell a more cautious story. Revenue from customer contracts came in at 148 million Norwegian kroner, 5% below the prior-year period. EBITDA remained in the red at minus 100 million kroner, though that was a 15-million-kroner improvement year-on-year. Order intake for the quarter totalled just 85 million kroner. Nel’s PEM division did sign a $7 million purchase order after the quarter ended, providing a small offset. Cash and equivalents stood at roughly 1.44 billion kroner, which management says is enough to fund operations through the full year 2026.
Internally, the company revamped its compensation structure in April, swapping a stock option plan with no performance conditions for a performance-share-unit programme tied to multi-year vesting and clear caps. CEO allocations are limited to 50% of base salary, other executives to 30%. Nearly 15 million PSUs were granted in total. Separately, Nel is seeing rising interest from an unexpected corner: defence and security applications, where decentralised, resilient hydrogen production is gaining strategic importance.
Nel pays no dividend — all capital is directed toward scaling the new electrolyser platform. The real test arrives on 15 July, when second-quarter results will be published. For the first time, investors will see order intake and margin data under the new technology. Whether the platform has already generated binding orders will determine if the past months’ rally has fundamental backing — or if the cash cushion merely buys time while the market waits for proof.
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