ESSEN, Germany-– Project delays in the global market for hydrogen equipment are temporary, Thyssenkrupp Nucera’s (NCH2.DE), opens new tab CEO Werner Ponikwar told Reuters, adding that the German company could double its workforce in the next three years.
Thyssenkrupp Nucera, a major electrolysis plant supplier, last month reported a 42% drop in order intake in January-March, saying investors were holding back on finalising deals due to a lack of regulatory certainty and problems securing financing as banks want evidence that consumers will take future production volumes.
Ponikwar said he expected the downturn would not be prolonged and the company was investing for growth, including plans to expand its staff from around 900 currently to 1,500-2,000 within three years.
“From today’s perspective, we don’t see this market taking a break,” Ponikwar said in an interview published on Thursday. The company, majority held by Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE), opens new tab, has orders at hand worth just under 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion).
“We believe that the market will grow extremely strongly over the next 10 or 20 years and we want to continue to play a very, very important role there,” he said on the sidelines of the Handelsblatt hydrogen conference in Essen, Germany on Wednesday.
The company last month lowered its sales growth forecasts for its 2023/24 fiscal year ending Sept. 30 and made a core loss prediction for 2023/24 in a mid double-digit euros range.
However, it should benefit from the German government’s decision last month to accelerate hydrogen projects and remove hurdles, and Ponikwar said related carbon capture and storage (CCS) provisions for CO2 would help with the switch from initially gas-based projects to feeding them with hydrogen.
The company was also active in export markets other than Germany.
“The big projects in Europe today tend to take place in the south of Europe, in Portugal and Spain,” said Ponikwar, who also mentioned pro-hydrogen legislation under the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as helpful.
The company was predominately focused on EU and U.S. markets first, and would look at regions such as Australia and the Middle East later, he said.
($1 = 0.9256 euros)
SOURCE: Reuters
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