Norwegian firm Nel Hydrogen gets $50 million for Plymouth Township plant

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell said Wednesday that a Norwegian company will receive a $50 million award toward a Plymouth Township facility it's building to help produce renewable hydrogen for fuel.

The award to Nel Hydrogen from the U.S. Energy Department announced Wednesday was one of 52 hydrogen investments totaling $750 million nationwide.

"This investment will create hundreds of good-paying jobs, bring millions of dollars to our local economy and keep Michigan at the forefront of clean energy innovation and technology,” Dingell said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo broke news last May that Nel Hydrogen had committed to open a Michigan factory to manufacture alkaline electrolyzer equipment used to produce renewable hydrogen, which in turn can be used in fuel cells for industrial applications, transportation vehicles and other systems that require electricity with virtually no greenhouse gas emissions.

In September, it was announced that the $400 million plant would be located in Plymouth Township and was expected to create more than 500 jobs when fully operational.

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Nel Hydrogen gets $50 million for Plymouth Township plant