Norway's Nel ASA has announced plans to build an automated gigawatt electrolyzer manufacturing plant in the U.S. state of Michigan. In the medium term, the plant will employ more than 500 people and will be one of the largest electrolyzer factories in the world, it said.
When completed, the Michigan plant is expected to have a production capacity of up to 4 GW and will manufacture both alkaline and PEM electrolyzers. The company developed the PEM electrolyzers with decades of support from the US Department of Energy.
Fully automated production concept
In the future, Nel plans to build on a fully automated concept for the production of alkaline electrolyzers developed at Herøya in Norway. Similarly, the expansion of the Wallingford facility will play a critical role in creating a concept for expanding production of PEM electrolyzers.
The announcement was made at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
PEM research with General Motors
"The decision to choose Michigan was based on an overall assessment of what the state can offer in terms of financial incentives, access to a highly skilled workforce, and collaboration with universities, Research Institutes and strategic partners.
Also noteworthy is the personal commitment of Governor Whitmer and her competent and service-oriented team," said Håkon Volldal, CEO of Nel.
In addition, he said, the short distance to General Motors in Detroit played an important role in the choice of the state. The two companies are working together to further develop and improve PEM technology.
