Michigan township to gain hydrogen hub and vehicle research facility

The facility is expected to be constructed in Ypsilanti Township by mid next year.

Ypsilanti Township in Michigan is slated to become the new home of a hydrogen hub and vehicle research facility by mid-2023 in order to contribute to the advancement of H2-powered vehicles.

Should this facility proceed as expected, it would become a first of its kind in the state.

BayoTech is working with the American Center for Mobility (ACM) on the project. The ACM already has an autonomous vehicle testing facility in Ypsilanti that is located on the Willow Run site and has more than 500 acres. The company is a hydrogen production firm headquartered in New Mexico.

Its goal is to produce the hydrogen hubs within communities where the demand for H2 is on the rise. The facility’s intention is to hire between 8 and 12 full-time employees as well as twenty temporary construction and manufacturing positions.

The company’s work boosts the accessibility of cost-effective, low-carbon hydrogen through its “relatively small hydrogen production units,” said BayoTech’s chief marketing officer Catharine Reid.

The hydrogen hub will produce enough H2 to be able to fill about 200 vehicles per day.

“It might seem kind of futuristic, but … there’s a lot of hydrogen that’s produced in the United States right now, and … uses of hydrogen are growing, and the demand is growing,” explained Reid.

BayoTech and ACM have already signed a letter of intent for the project. The next step BayoTech will be taking will be to lease from ACM and obtain the necessary township permits. Once it has completed that step, the company will install its own equipment for operation on the ACM property.

Ypsilanti Township supervisor Brenda Stumbo said that the next steps for the site will involve the township’s receipt of the site plan approval from the city’s planning department and commission.

According to Reid, ACM chose to look into H2 supply once Toyota Motor Corporation, one of its tenants, mentioned testing fuel cells at the hydrogen hub.

“It’s really kind of mutually beneficial … ACM can serve their clients and serve the requests of their partners,” said Reid. “Then for Bayotech it gives us a great opportunity to have a location where we can install our equipment and produce hydrogen for use at ACM, but also for other customers and clients around the Detroit area.”