Company commits to largest hydrogen storage plant in North America in Genesee County
Posted By: mlive on August 28, 2023. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
Plastics Omnium has confirmed it’s chosen Grand Blanc Township to build the largest hydrogen storage manufacturing plant in North America.
The company announced on Monday, Aug. 28, that it will design, develop and produce high-pressure hydrogen storage systems for medium and heavy-duty, zero-emissions vehicles at the $171-million plant, creating 175 high-tech manufacturing jobs. The investment includes the creation of a state-of-the-art validation and prototyping lab that’s expected to be leased at a yet-to-be-determined location.
Monday’s announcement comes after the Michigan Strategic Fund Board approved a $5-million grant for the Plastic Omnium New Energies USA project and another incentive worth up to $2.3 million if the company moved forward with the development on 50 acres in the Grand Blanc Enterprise Park off Baldwin Road.
MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach a spokesperson for Plastics Omnium for comment on Monday, but the company, which had been in talks about alternate sites in Indiana, Ohio and Canada, announced its commitment to build here in its news release.
In addition to the funding commitment by the state, Genesee County and the township are “committed to investing in the infrastructure and workforce development for the project,” the company’s announcement says.
Township officials have been in discussions with the company and are expecting to receive a site plan for the project in October with construction starting in spring 2024. The production facility is expected to be completed in 2026.
Information provided to MSF Board members said the township also anticipates granting a property tax abatement in support of the 200,000-square-foot plant,which will have an annual production capacity of up to 100,000 high-pressure hydrogen vessels.
“We are excited to launch the construction of our first hydrogen mega-plant in the United States, in Michigan, the heart of the automotive industry,” Laurent Favre, chief executive officer of Plastic Omnium, said in the announcement. “This investment follows Plastic Omnium’s record $2-billion order from a major U.S. automaker earlier this year, which confirms our leadership as a key technology partner for U.S. sustainable mobility players.”
Neither the company nor officials for the state of Michigan have identified which automaker placed the $2-billion order or what ties it may have to vehicle manufacturing in the state.
Township officials have said they have been in discussions with the Plastic Omnium and are expecting to receive a site plan for the project in October with construction starting in spring 2024 and the production facility completed in 2026.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also met with executives from the company during her visit to France in June, making the case for the Grand Blanc Township site, state officials said last week,.
Plastic Omnium, the parent company of Plastic Omnium New Energies USA, is described by the state as a leading tier-one automotive supplier. It is the worldwide leader for fuel systems and bumpers, serving all the domestic original equipment manufacturers as well as several foreign car manufacturers with annual revenue nearing $10 billion.
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