Electrolyser manufacturer Nel has received a €3mn ($3.3mn) purchase order for an alkaline electrolyser from a European customer.

The firm is also still in advanced negotiations with a second European customer for a contract of a similar size for hydrogen fuelling modules.

Nel’s purchase order backlog was already standing at NOK1.2bn ($140mn) as of earlier this month, up by 25pc from 2020.

It has received a €13.5mn contract for a 20MW proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) electrolyser from Spanish utility Iberdrola and an €11mn contract for a 20MW electrolyser from manufacturer Ovako.

Gas distribution firm SGN also placed an order for a 5MW alkaline electrolyser to deliver 2t/d of green hydrogen to its H100 Fife project in Levenmouth, Scotland. SGN and Nel claim the project is the first 100pc green hydrogen network supplying customers for the purposes of heating and cooking.

Reducing costs

“Outcompeting fossil fuel-based hydrogen is crucial for the necessary transition to a zero-emission society,” says Nel CEO Jon Andre Lokke.

“We are firm in our aim to reach this milestone already in 2025 based on our target to offer technology that can produce green renewable hydrogen at $1.5/kg,” adds Lokke, who will resign in June to be replaced by Hakon Volldal.

Nel says its technology can be scaled to electrolysers of 800MW of capacity and beyond and believes projects in the EU will reach that size over the next few years.

“Outcompeting fossil fuel-based hydrogen is crucial for the necessary transition to a zero-emission society” Lokke, Nel

The company also this year started production at its new Norwegian Heroya plant—the world’s largest electrolyser production facility.

The firm is looking for a site for a large-scale technology production facility in the US to manufacture both PEM and alkaline electrolysers.

It is developing three new types of electrolyser: a pressurised single-cell stack alkaline electrolyser, larger capacity stacks of its current alkaline electrolysers, and a larger single-cell stack PEM electroyser.

“All these three development activities are targeting to reduce total cost of ownership for our customers,” the firm says.

Expanding offerings

Nel entered into framework agreements in 2021 with engineering company Wood and engineering services firm Aibel to expand its project delivery offering.

“These internationally renowned EPC companies will leverage their capabilities to work with Nel to develop large-scale, complex hydrogen projects anywhere in the world,” the firm says. “These partnerships add significant value to Nel’s global delivery and project execution abilities.”

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Author: Tom Young