Hexagon Purus narrows EBITDA loss as hydrogen orders rebuild
Hexagon Purus, the Oslo-listed maker of hydrogen pressure systems and battery-electric vehicle integration kits, posted a second-quarter EBITDA loss of NOK 102 million for the three months to June 2026, a significant improvement on the NOK 161 million loss recorded in the same period last year. Revenue and other income came in at NOK 146 million, down 25% year-on-year in headline terms, though the company says a like-for-like comparison, stripping out the US business it divested in Q1 2026, shows an underlying decline of just 6%.
The results land at a pivotal moment for the hydrogen mobility sector. Hexagon Purus is one of relatively few publicly listed pure-plays on zero-emission heavy transport infrastructure, giving its quarterly numbers an outsized read-across for investors tracking the commercial readiness of hydrogen as a fuel for buses, freight and industrial logistics.
Cost reset, but the balance sheet is under pressure
The improvement in EBITDA reflects an aggressive cost restructuring that the company began twelve months ago. Total operating expenses fell from NOK 355 million to NOK 248 million over the same period, with Q2 2026 still absorbing NOK 15 million in restructuring charges related to workforce reductions in Germany. Management says the programme has "fundamentally reset" the revenue threshold required to reach EBITDA break-even, though no specific figure is given for that revised break-even point.
The more acute concern is the balance sheet. Total equity at quarter-end stood at just NOK 41 million against total assets of NOK 1,866 million, an equity ratio of 1%, down from 33% a year earlier. The company holds NOK 308 million in cash, and management states that the low equity ratio is not expected to constrain near-term operations. Two convertible bonds, totalling NOK 1,958 million in interest-bearing debt, mature in Q1 2028 and Q1 2029 respectively. The company says it is "actively evaluating" structural measures around those instruments. For capital markets watchers, the bond maturity wall and the pace of order conversion will define whether Hexagon Purus exits this restructuring as a going concern or becomes a consolidation target.
The order backlog of firm purchase orders stood at NOK 523 million at quarter-end. CEO Morten Holum described converting commercial dialogues into firm orders as "management's highest operational priority," noting active conversations across both hydrogen and battery-electric applications.
Where this sits in the wider convergence picture
The Hexagon Purus story is a microcosm of the financing tension running through the entire hydrogen-and-clean-transport infrastructure space. Capital that flowed freely into zero-emission mobility during 2021-2023 has become more selective, and the companies best positioned to survive the tightening cycle are those with diversified revenue streams spanning hydrogen storage, distribution infrastructure and battery integration, precisely the portfolio Hexagon Purus operates, even if each segment is still subscale relative to break-even.
The geopolitical dimension is also relevant. Hexagon Purus' decision to exit its US operations in Q1 2026 removes exposure to a market where federal clean-energy incentive architecture has become less predictable. The rump European and Asian business, four hydrogen distribution modules delivered to customers this quarter, Hino vehicle integrations in the Battery Systems segment, is now a more concentrated but arguably more policy-stable base. European heavy-transport electrification mandates continue to create a structural demand floor that pure commercial sentiment cannot fully erase.
For cross-sector investors, the key forward indicator is not the EBITDA trajectory, which is improving, but the capital structure resolution. A distressed convertible-bond restructure would likely bring in new institutional capital with different strategic priorities, potentially accelerating consolidation across the fragmented European hydrogen-infrastructure supplier base. The second half of 2026 will clarify whether the order pipeline converts fast enough to fund that conversation on Hexagon Purus' own terms.