In a market outlook accompanying its results for Q1 2023, the Norwegian company said that external and internal analysis supported the view that several gigawatts of electrolyser projects will reach final investment decision before 2025.
Industrial applications represented the most promising near-term opportunities, according to Nel. “Projects are expected to commence first in mature markets, before large greenfield installations integrated with renewable energy sources gradually are expected to become another important market segment,” it said.
US electrolyser manufacturing
The company has announced plans to build a new automated gigawatt electrolyser manufacturing facility in Michigan. It will employ more than 500 people and have a production capacity of up to 4GW of alkaline and PEM electrolysers when fully developed.
The news came as US-based electrolyser firm EH2 announced that its first factory will be located in Devens, Massachusetts. It will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 1.2GW and the company said production of its green hydrogen electrolysers will begin in the first quarter of next year.
Nel’s chief executive, Håkon Volldal, said the Michigan development was the fruit of “nearly two decades of research investment through the department of energy’s hydrogen and fuel cell office [leading] to technological advances”.
In its results statement, Nel said that its electrolyser business reported an all-time high order backlog. “Overall demand is increasing, projects are getting larger, and customers are increasingly looking towards suppliers with available capacity and a track record for delivering equipment,” it said.
The company reported a 75% increase in revenue for electrolysers compared with Q1 2022.
