Electrolyzer manufacturer to build $400M plant in Chesterfield

Updated May 1, 2024

Topsoe, a Danish electrolyzer manufacturer, is planning to build a $400 million manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County after receiving $136 million in federal tax credits to help fund construction, the company announced Friday. The plant is expected to create about 150 jobs, according to a news release Friday from the offices of U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan.

The company will manufacture Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC) stacks, which help produce renewable or “green” hydrogen, in Chesterfield, according to the announcement. Under the federal Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, about 35 companies, including Topsoe, received clean energy tax credits totaling nearly $2 billion, which the U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday.

A May 1 announcement from Gov. Glenn Youngkin notes that the Meadowville Technology Park facility will be Topsoe’s largest U.S. investment. To secure the project, Chesterfield County received a $6 million grant from the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund, and Topsoe is eligible for benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program also will support job creation and training, according to the governor’s office.

“Through legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and strong support from individual states such as Virginia, the U.S. government is helping to accelerate the clean energy transition,” Topsoe CEO Roeland Baan said in a statement. “With our strong dedication to innovation, we will help the U.S. achieve its goals of driving down the cost of clean hydrogen and delivering clean energy jobs.”

Topsoe’s cells increase electrolyzer efficiency up to 30% more than other electrolysis technology, according to the company. Green hydrogen is created by electrolysis of water while using renewable electricity, so it emits no pollutants into the atmosphere, and scientists say the gas can limit global warming if used to replace fossil fuels in industries such as shipping, aviation and production of steel, cement, glass and chemicals.

Democrats Warner, Kaine and McClellan, who represents part of Chesterfield County in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, wrote a letter to the Energy Department to advocate for the Topsoe project’s inclusion in the awards, the federal legislators said in their statement Friday.

“The Inflation Reduction Act represented a bold step towards maintaining American leadership in manufacturing, creating the next generation of clean energy jobs, and combatting climate change,” Warner said. “I’m glad to see that vision executed in Chesterfield County with the announcement of a new Topsoe manufacturing facility. Thanks to tax credits from this landmark law, Virginia will continue to power our nation and lead the clean energy transition by creating good-paying manufacturing jobs across the commonwealth.”

Youngkin previously released a statement April 19 after the senators’ announcement: “I am thrilled that Topsoe has chosen the great commonwealth of Virginia for its new, state-of-the-art factory that will be key to scaling clean hydrogen production. Virginia’s robust workforce, strategic location and top business climate provide the necessary tools for Topsoe to continue to grow as a leader in the clean energy industry.”

Founded in 1940 in Denmark, Topsoe has two facilities in the United States in Texas and California, and it has offices around the world, although about 1,700 of its 2,300 employees are based in Denmark. The company specializes in technology that helps reduce carbon emissions, including heavy industry, long-haul transportation and producing cleaner fuels.