12-03-2025

SAMSUNG E&A enters the green hydrogen market with Nel ASA acquisition

SAMSUNG E&A, a total solutions provider for the global energy industry, has announced its full-scale entry into the green hydrogen market with the acquisition of equity in Norwegian hydrogen company Nel ASA.

On 12 March, SAMSUNG E&A disclosed that it acquired on 11 March a 9.1% stake in the global hydrogen company Nel ASA of Norway for approximately USD 33 million and signed a strategic partnership agreement for strategic collaboration. The signing ceremony took place at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Houston, USA, with top executives from both companies in attendance, including Hong Namkoong, President and CEO of SAMSUNG E&A, and Håkon Volldal, CEO of Nel ASA.

Headquartered in Norway, Nel is a global leader in hydrogen technology with a history tracing back to 1927. It offers various electrolyser solutions for hydrogen production based on renewable energy. Nel stands out in the industry having a presence on the two only commercially ready electrolyser technologies, alkaline water electrolyser (AWE) and proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEM), with extensive project experience worldwide on both platforms. The company is also developing next-generation, high-performance, solutions on both technologies.

Through this collaboration, SAMSUNG E&A aims to develop an integrated technology solution for hydrogen production plants by combining differentiated technologies and capabilities of both companies. Based on this, it plans to lead the green hydrogen plant market and expand its business to include installing and operating electrolysers.

In particular, green hydrogen production technology using electrolysers is a gateway technology for synthesizing green ammonia, green methanol, and e-fuel, therefore an essential technology for the ultimate energy transition.  The global eco-friendly energy market, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), ammonia, and methanol, is attracting attention as a next-generation marine fuel, rapidly expanding due to the global decarbonization trend and environmental regulations in key countries. Accordingly, SAMSUNG E&A plans to secure a preemptive technological position in the green hydrogen market by establishing a long-term partnership with Nel.

SAMSUNG E&A has declared that 'addressing societal challenges through technology' is one of its core mid- to long-term strategies in the era of energy transition. The company is accelerating the promotion of new businesses in the energy transition and eco-friendly sectors, focusing on threeE&Able strategies: E&Able Low (low carbon), E&Able Zero (carbon-free), and E&Able Circle (environment).

Hong Namkoong, President and CEO of SAMSUNG E&A, stated: " “We will continue to proactively secure technologies in the energy transition field, such as hydrogen and carbon neutrality, through technological investment and collaboration,” and “We plan to create a virtuous business cycle by attracting high value-added EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) linked orders based on technological solutions.”

Citi acted as the exclusive financial advisor to SAMSUNG E&A for this investment.