Nel ASA announced that following a seven-year development program, and now a successful start-up and production of clean hydrogen on the Next Generation Pressurized Alkaline prototype, the Board of Directors has taken the final investment decision to begin construction on up to 1 GW of production capacity for this technology platform in the Heroya facility, Norway. The project is supported by the EU Innovation Fund. Development of the Next Generation Pressurized AlKaline system was initiated in 2018 and after rigorous testing of various smaller stacks, Nel has now completed full-scale testing of the prototype at Heroya Industripark, Norway, validating market-leading system efficiency.
The company expects to launch the system commercially in the first half of 2026 and be able to deliver at scale in 2027. Building on 100 years of technology experience, Nel's Next Generation Pressurized Alk alkaline platform delivers a breakthrough in clean hydrogen economics, dramatically reducing system CAPEX and improving energy efficiency, driving down levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). This leap is expected to improve overall hydrogen production economics, and bridge critical funding gaps for hydrogen installations.
The platform is based on a fully modularized, skid-based design where every module is pre-fabricated and factory-tested before shipment in standard container skids. This approach dramatically simplifies engineering, logistics, and installation and is expected to transform complex projects into streamlined product deliveries. The system is designed to operate reliably outdoors, where costs and deployment complexity are further reduced as no dedicated building construction is required.
Nel has been granted up to EUR 135 million in support from the EU Innovation Fund to industrialize the Next Generation pressurized Alkaline platform, enabling a total annual production output of 4 GW. This funding covers up to 60% of relevant CAPEX and operational costs related to industrialization. The initial 1 GW of production capacity is estimated at an investment of about NOK 300 million before grants.
