© Nel

Håkon Volldal has resigned as President and Chief Executive of Nel, the Norwegian electrolyzer manufacturer, to take up the top job at Elopak, the Oslo-based liquid-carton packaging group. He will serve a six-month notice period while Nel’s board searches for a successor.

Departure comes amid a prolonged slowdown in green hydrogen

The leadership change lands at a difficult moment for the electrolyzer industry. European project deployment has slowed sharply over the past two years as developers struggle with high financing costs and weak offtake demand, forcing equipment makers including Nel to scale back capacity and headcount.

A turbulent four-year tenure

Volldal took the helm at Nel in July 2022. During his tenure the company spun out its refuelling business as Cavendish Hydrogen, secured investment from South Korea’s Samsung E&A, and reworked its product portfolio. The period was also marked by setbacks: Nel idled its atmospheric alkaline electrolyzer factory in Herøya, Norway, in January last year, laid off staff, and shelved plans for a 4GW electrolyzer plant in Michigan amid insufficient market demand.

Nel said Volldal was leaving to pursue an opportunity outside the clean hydrogen sector. Elopak, his new employer, is substantially larger than Nel, employing more than 2,300 people compared with Nel’s roughly 400.

Board signals continuity, new technology in focus

Nel chair Arvid Moss said Volldal had played an “important role” in shaping the company’s strategy, renewing its product portfolio, strengthening its leadership team, and building partnerships, adding that the board would like to thank him for his strong contributions during his tenure and wish him the best of luck with the next step in his career. Moss said the company’s strategic direction and top priorities remain unchanged.

The transition comes a month after Nel launched a pressurised alkaline electrolyzer system, a successor to its atmospheric alkaline technology, which the company expects to account for the bulk of new orders going forward. Volldal said he remained a “strong supporter” of clean hydrogen and Nel, despite his move to a “different industry.” An electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity; when that electricity comes from renewable sources, the resulting hydrogen is classified as green.

Implications for investors and the wider electrolyzer market

The leadership change underscores the pressure facing electrolyzer manufacturers as green hydrogen project economics remain unproven against fossil-derived alternatives. For investors, the board’s emphasis on continuity will be tested by whether Nel’s new pressurised alkaline system can revive order volumes after the Herøya plant’s idling and the abandonment of US expansion plans. For policymakers, the episode is a reminder that hardware suppliers’ fortunes remain closely tied to the pace of project financing decisions across Europe, rather than to technology readiness alone.