The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the state of Michigan have awarded a total of $75 million in cash incentives and grants to help fund Norwegian company Nel ASA’s next electrolyser production facility in Plymouth Township. The facility will produce hydrogen fuel.
On Wednesday, the DOE granted Nel ASA $50 million in direct investment support for the company’s planned new U.S. gigafactory and workforce development initiatives in Michigan. In parallel, the state of Michigan awarded $25 million in direct investment support.
Once finished (an exact completion date was not provided), the new facility is expected to employ about 500 people.
Fully built out, the Plymouth Township site is expected to have an annual nameplate production capacity of four GW.
In the new facility, Nel will manufacture its next-generation electrolyser technologies — the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) stacks currently being developed together with General Motors, as well as pressurized alkaline stacks.
When the announcement about the new facility was made in May 2023, Håkon Volldal, president and CEO of Nel ASA, said Michigan was chosen based on an overall assessment of what the state can offer in terms of financial incentives, access to a highly skilled workforce, and cooperation with universities, research institutions, and partners.
Partnering with General Motors Co. in Detroit, Macomb Community College in Warren, Wayne State University’s College of Engineering in Detroit, and others, the DOE’s investment will further enhance Nel ASA’s domestic electrolyser manufacturing production capacity while building a clean hydrogen value chain and an industrialized manufacturing training program.
“The support from the Department of Energy and the state of Michigan is crucial for realizing our factory, which will create new green industrial jobs and be a significant contribution to the energy transition,” says Volldal. “It is encouraging to see the Department of Energy taking these strategic steps to stimulate a clean energy economy, and we appreciate their long-time support to take our products from research and development to commercial products.”
Nel ASA has previously been awarded approximately $50 million from the state of Michigan in support of this electrolyser production facility last July.
