Nel ASA

Earnings Release • May 8, 2018

Nel ASA: First Quarter 2018 Results

Nel ASA: First Quarter 2018 Results

(Oslo, 8 May 2018) Nel ASA ("Nel") reported revenues in the first quarter of

2018 of NOK 112.5 million, up from NOK 35.7 million in the first quarter of

2017, and an adjusted EBITDA of NOK -5.5 million. Nel has an exclusive

partnership with Nikola Motor Company ("Nikola") and was recently awarded an

additional purchase order of USD 5.5 million, as part of previously announced

hydrogen station agreement.

"The first quarter of 2018 was a solid quarter for Nel, where we announced the

world's first factory certified hydrogen fueling stations with UL certification

for the U.S. market. We were also pleased to announce the additional purchase

order of USD 5.5 million from our partner Nikola after the closing of the

quarter. We continue to deliver state-of-the-art quality on our current project

backlog and experience a solid pipeline of new order opportunities across the

world," says Jon André Løkke, Chief Executive Officer of Nel.

In the first quarter of 2018, Nel reported revenues of NOK 112.5 million,

compared to NOK 35.7 million in the same quarter of 2017, representing a more

than a tripling in revenues. The underlying organic revenue growth was around 58

percent, excluding the acquisition of Proton Onsite, and 47 percent on a like

-for-like basis.

The high activity level within business development, investments and

preparations for production ramp-up continued as planned. The EBITDA was

negatively affected by certain costs and ended at NOK -5.5 million, when

adjusting for ramp-up costs and non-recurring items of NOK 7.1 million and non

-cash share option costs of NOK 3.2 million. The cash balance at the end of the

first quarter ended at NOK 250.8 million, and the equity ratio was 81.5 percent.

After the closing of the quarter, the H2Station® successfully achieved the

world's first the world's first factory certified hydrogen fueling stations with

UL certification for the U.S. market . The certification sets the new industrial

norm and benchmark for safety level and legal compliance for hydrogen fueling

stations and enables a faster and more streamlined installation and permitting

process. Nel also received a USD 5.5 million purchase order from Nikola, as part

of the previously announced hydrogen stations partnership.

"The Nikola order marks a strengthening of our partnership and is a recognition

of the level of competence our team and hydrogen solutions can offer. In

addition, we are excited by Nikola's recent developments, having announced an

order of up to 800 hydrogen trucks with Anheuser-Busch and the ambition of

deploying 700 hydrogen stations over the next years," says Løkke, and refers to

the exclusive Nikola partnership and the purchase order for the demo hydrogen

refueling stations for Nikola's fleet of prototype hydrogen trucks.

Nel's order backlog ended at approximately NOK 410 million at the end of the

quarter.

"Nel has a strong position within the hydrogen industry as a pure play company

positioned to play an important role in a fast-growing market. Nel offers the

complete range of electrolyzers, as well as state- of-the-art fueling stations

for all types of fuel cell electric vehicles, and targets to maintain this

unique position within the industry. During 2018, we aim to capitalize on the

emerging opportunities within power-to-X and hydrogen fueling, targeting

continued technology leadership, global presence, cost leadership, and preferred

-partner status for industry participants," Løkke concludes.

Nel will host a presentation at 08:00 CET at Hotel Continental in Oslo on May 8,

2018. A live webcast of the call will also be available on the company's

website, www.nelhydrogen.com/webcast, and on

http://webtv.hegnar.no/presentation.php?webcastId=83481169

The first quarter 2018 report and presentation are enclosed and available

through www.newsweb.no (Ticker: NEL) and www.nelhydrogen.com

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Jon André Løkke, CEO, Nel ASA, +47 907 44 949

Bent Skisaker, CFO, Nel ASA, +47 468 21 693

About Nel ASA | www.nelhydrogen.com

Nel is a global, dedicated hydrogen company, delivering optimal solutions to

produce, store and distribute hydrogen from renewable energy. We serve

industries, energy and gas companies with leading hydrogen technology. Since its

foundation in 1927, Nel has a proud history of development and continual

improvement of hydrogen plants. Our hydrogen solutions cover the entire value

chain from hydrogen production technologies to manufacturing of hydrogen fueling

stations, providing all fuel cell electric vehicles with the same fast fueling

and long range as conventional vehicles today.