Nel ASA has taken the final investment decision to expand the production capacity at its proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer manufacturing facility in Wallingford, Connecticut. The expansion will bring annual production capacity towards 500 MW in 2025.

“This is an important milestone for Nel,” said Nel’s CEO, Håkon Volldal. “With this expansion, we will increase PEM production capacity substantially and simultaneously reduce stack cost and improve stack efficiency.”

The investment cost is estimated at approximately $25 MM, and the new production line is expected to reach nameplate capacity in 2025.

“Last year we opened the world's first fully automated alkaline electrolyzer plant in Herøya, Norway. Now we will industrialize the PEM platform, and the expansion in Wallingford is an important first step,” said Volldal.

The development of the ~500-MW PEM production line will be a substantial contributor to further expansion plans in the US, where developing a quality production concept is crucial for preparing Nel’s planned Gigafactory.

The planned Gigafactory will have a potential of up to ~4-GW production capacity, distributed between both PEM and Alkaline.

“We are considering three attractive alternatives in three different states and will make a final decision shortly,” said Volldal.

Nel is also expanding in Norway. The company recently started constructing the second production line at the Herøya facility, and the production capacity is expected to reach approximately 1 GW in April 2024.

“During the last months, we have received significant purchase orders for large-scale electrolyzer projects. Therefore, we have ramped up production from three to five shifts, meaning that production is now running around the clock, also on the weekends,” said Volldal.