NY Governor Cuomo announces Plug Power to build hydrogen Innovation Center
January 25, 2021The new facility will be built in Monroe County and is expected to create nearly 380 new jobs.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that Plug Power Inc will be constructing a new $125 million hydrogen Innovation Center in the state.
The Gigafactory will be located in the town of Henrietta in Monroe County, New York.
Plug Power’s new center will be the first Gigafactory in the world for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology. The company will use the hydrogen Innovation Center for manufacturing fuel cell stacks and H2 electrolyzers.
The fuel cell stacks to be made in the factory will be used in Plug Power’s ProGen H2 fuel cell engines. Those are used for powering a spectrum of different types of electric vehicles, including material handling equipment, drones (UAVs) and commercial fleet vehicles on roads. The electrolyzers manufactured there are used for green hydrogen production powered by renewable electricity sources.
Construction on the new hydrogen Innovation Center will begin during the first quarter of this year.
Building the center will involve renovation to a facility located at 1025 John Street. This aligns the construction to be complete in time for manufacturing to begin as early as mid-2021. Empire State Development is supporting Plug Power’s operation expansion and ongoing investment and job creation within the state. As such, Empire State Development has provided this most recent project with $13 million in Excelsior Tax Credits. Also providing assistance to the project are Rochester Gas, Greater Rochester Enterprise, and Monroe County itself.
“For years, Plug Power has been a critical partner in helping move both the state and nation towards a cleaner, greener future, as well as in helping strengthen local economies and create jobs,” said Governor Cuomo. “The company’s continued investment and expansion in the Finger Lakes region is truly a testament to their commitment to this effort. This state-of-the-art Innovation Center will not only further establish New York a center for green energy excellence and create hundreds of jobs, but also play a key role in helping reach the goals set forth in our nation-leading climate and clean energy agenda.”
The hydrogen Innovation Center is among the latest steps from Plug Power’s expansion plans in New York state, which it first announced in 2019. The company also intends to invest $3.9 million into the establishment of a Membrane Electrode Assemblies facility at the Eastman Business Park in Rochester, which would create over 80 jobs for the area.
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Interesting announcement which has not taken into account the fact that ITM Power, a company in Sheffield, UK, has already moved into the World’s first Gigafctory to produce Electrolysers using Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology, for which it has a considerable number of world patents. The new factory is now fully operational!