Topsoe buys land for $400M plant in Chesterfield County

Topsoe, a Danish electrolyzer manufacturer, paid $4.95 million for about 57 acres in Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield County this summer, where the company plans to build a $400 million manufacturing plant.

In April, Topsoe announced the investment, which is expected to create 150 jobs. 

The company will manufacture Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell stacks, which are used to produce renewable hydrogen. 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 in April. Topsoe received $135.9 million in tax credits. 

“Electrolyzers are key for decarbonizing energy-intensive industries like steel, mining and long-distance transportation, which account for approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions,” the U.S. Department of Energy said in a statement about the award.

The land, which is located at 11700 Meadowville Lane and 1301 Meadowville Technology Parkway, was purchased from the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority on June 25. 

Topsoe plans to spend $140 million on building construction and $260 million on production machinery and tools, according to a performance grant agreement unanimously approved May 15 by the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. 

A spokesperson for Topsoe confirmed the land was purchased for the previously announced plant and added that the company expects construction on this project to take two years.

Garrett Hart, director of economic development for Chesterfield County, noted Topsoe is currently working on a site plan and expects to begin construction in 2025.

“They’re moving forward,” Hart said.

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.

Additionally, in May the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors approved a performance agreement that would give Topsoe $2.1 million from the county’s Economic Development Authority from the land sale. The county will also provide an annual grant for six years equal to the amount of machinery and tools tax Topsoe would pay for six years, an amount estimated to be $3.9 million. 

In return, the company must make $400 million in capital investments to the facility by the end of 2029. 

The property purchased by Topsoe sits across the street from where Lego plans to build $1 billion building-block manufacturing facility. 

Output of electrolyzer stacks at Topsoe’s Chesterfield County plant will enable the planet to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by planting over 33 million tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for a decade, according to an August post on Topsoe’s website. 

Founded in 1940 in Denmark, Topsoe has two U.S. facilities in Texas and California, and it has offices around the world and more than 2,800 employees. The company specializes in technology that helps reduce carbon emissions, including heavy industry, long-haul transportation and producing cleaner fuels.