Norwegian hydrogen corporation Nel has taken a crucial step forward of large-scale clean hydrogen manufacturing, confirming construction of up to 1 gigawatt of production capacity for its Next Generation Pressurized Alkaline technology at its Herøya facility in Norway.
The very last funding choice comes after 7-years of development and the a success start-up and manufacturing of clean hydrogen from a full-scale prototype. The venture is sponsored by the EU development Fund, highlighting developing European support for commercial-scale hydrogen deployment.
Development of the brand new pressurized alkaline system started out in 2018. After large testing of smaller stacks, Nel has now finished full-scale validation at Herøya Industripark, confirming what it mention is market-leading system efficiency. Commercial release is focused for the first half of of 2026, with large-scale deliveries predicted from 2027.
Drawing on a century of electrolyser expertise, Nel mention that the latest platform marks a step change in hydrogen economics, mainly reducing capital expenditure even as improving energy efficiency. The result is a lower levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH), a key obstacles for widespread adoption of clean hydrogen technologies.
“Our new solution is most essential for Nel as a corporations, but also for the clean hydrogen industry as an whole. A substantially enhanced levelized cost of hydrogen is predicted to unlock business cases that were earlier not feasible without significant subsidies,” stated Håkon Volldal, President and CEO of Nel.
The system is built around a fully modular, skid-based design, with each unit pre-fabricated and facility-examined before being shipped in standard container skids.
Nel mention this approach significantly simplifies engineering and installation, turning complicated infrastructure ventures into Consistent product deliveries. The platform is also designed for outdoors operation, putting off the requirement for devoted buildings and further reducing costs.
To help industrialization, Nel has been awarded up to EUR 135 million from the EU development Fund. The furnish, that could cover up to 60% of eligible capital and operating costs, is meant to allow total annual manufacturing capability of as much as 4-GW across the platform.
The initial 1 GW build-out at Herøya is anticipated to need around NOK 300 million in investment earlier than grants. The milestone-primarily based EU funding is set to launch more than EUR 10 million as a first payment following the investment decision, with capital spending spread throughout 2026 and 2027.
Nel mentions overall capital requirements are notably decrease than for traditional atmospheric alkaline manufacturing lines.
As the latest pressurized alkaline solution moves closer to commercialization, Nel is likewise reviewing the book values of its 2-current 500 MW atmospheric alkaline manufacturing lines recently idling at Herøya, signaling a capability strategic shift towards the next-generation technology.
