Topsoe is planning to construct a 280,000-square-foot factory that will manufacture solid oxide electrolyzer cells in the Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield. (Photo courtesy of Topsoe)
The Danes have apparently taken a liking to Meadowville Technology Park.
Denmark-based Topsoe announced Wednesday its plans to build a $400 million, nearly 280,000-square-foot facility at the Chesterfield industrial park to manufacture solid oxide electrolyzer cells, which use electricity to generate what the company calls “clean hydrogen” that is used as a fuel source.
The factory is slated to rise toward the northern end of Meadowville on an undeveloped 57-acre site. Topsoe is under contract to buy the land from the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority in a deal expected to close in the coming weeks, Economic Development Director Garrett Hart told BizSense.
Construction on the facility is expected to start this summer, Hart said.
The future Topsoe site is made up of parcels at 11700 and 11720 Meadowville Lane and portions of other plots.
Topsoe’s project site is across the road from the property that fellow Danes at toy company Lego have secured for a $1 billion manufacturing plant.
Topsoe said that 150 jobs will be created by its project in Chesterfield. The planned facility would be the company’s first location in the Richmond region and its largest investment to date in the United States.
The factory’s cells are aimed at heavy-industry users such as chemical and cement makers, as well as the transportation industry. Those sectors are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and are in need of fossil fuel alternatives like hydrogen, according to Chesterfield’s project announcement.
Topsoe CEO Roeland Baan said in a prepared statement that efforts by the United States to position itself as a “clean energy leader” will be boosted by Topsoe’s plant in Chesterfield.
“With strong support from individual states like Virginia the country’s clean energy future looks bright. With our strong dedication to scientific research and innovation, we will help the U.S. achieve its goals of driving down the cost of clean hydrogen and delivering clean energy jobs,” Baan said.
Danish manufacturer Topsoe has a nearly 60-acre assemblage (the yellow dotted outline) under contract at Meadowville Technology Park to serve as the site of a planned hydrogen fuel cells manufacturing plant. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose office announced the project Wednesday, approved a $6 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to help Chesterfield lure Topsoe. The fund is a pot of money the governor can use to entice a company’s entry into Virginia or expansion of existing operations in the state.
The Greater Richmond Partnership and Virginia Economic Development Partnership assisted Chesterfield in landing the project.
Topsoe will be able to take advantage of benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Grant Program, as well as recruitment and training services by way of the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program. Topsoe is planning to use $136 million in federal tax credits to help fund construction of the facility in Chesterfield.
This week’s announcements from the governor’s office and Chesterfield followed an announcement by Topsoe in April that it intended to establish a factory in Chesterfield. At the time the company declined to comment on the specific location of the planned facility.
Topsoe said it will launch a scholarship program in which it will award five one-year scholarships worth $10,000 apiece to high school seniors at Chesterfield Public Schools who want to study a STEM field in college. The first awards are expected to be provided in the spring of 2025 for the following academic year.
Recipients wouldn’t be required to work for Topsoe after graduation, according to a company spokesman.
Topsoe, which was founded in 1940, is based in Denmark and has more than 2,800 employees. The company also has a U.S. manufacturing plant in Texas outside of Houston.
In other recent Meadowville moves, data center company Chirisa is planning to expand its existing facility in the park.
After seeing this good story I went to the map and wondered…What if the region’s powers developed a larger port just east of the Benjamin Harrison Bridge(Tar Bay) for large cargo. The river west of the bridge, up to Richmond, could then become residential/recreational for area residents. Is it possible?
That is a very interesting idea Arnold. I am not an expert, but that spot WAS I think the busiest port in the country during the Civil war. I don’t know if Richmond would like that, but I could see some advantages in that there is a lot more boat room thereabouts. But there is so much connectivity already built at the Port of Richmond that it would be prohibitive to try to install it in, what — Prince George? There also may be some significant advantages to barges getting those last few miles upriver as well. My sense is… Read more »
Satellite view of Tar Bay shows the area has already been claimed.
Interesting. I wonder what for. That point has a lot of potentional, but a quick look at a map of eastern VA and Southern MD reveals that there is a bit TOO much geographic competition in the potential dept — it is an interesting subject — the area was settled very early, and then in most places declined and many river and bay ports withered over the centuries while a few major ones grew. Richmond’s port has a distinction that I guess is important: even though it is kinds of a “clumsy: ” Port — awkwardly hard to turn around… Read more »
More great news on several levels. Foreign direct investment is one of the best kinds we can get, and it means that VA in general and the Central VA in particular remain competitive — some places it doesn’t matter what incentives you offer, they still say no.
Virginia faces increased competition these days for FDI — even places like Alabama are getting a lot more attractive.
If a casino is built in Petersburg will there be boats coming up from the Tidewater area to visit? I can see a dinner cruise up from Norfolk/Williamsburg docking to gamble. Or cruises from Rocketts Landing to the casino. What say you?
I say no. Cause the location for the Casinos is in the FAR SOUTH of Petersburg, far from any docking of any kind. Even the unfavored “Rivers” Casino did not propose to put their casino on the Appommatox.
On more consideration even though no more are necessary: there are already casinos in tidewater now, so gamblers who come in buy boat (Cruise ship?) could just remain thereabouts.
Also if you are going to get people on a boat why not just keep them on board and gamble at sea?
Yes, if the boat is of the “Riverboat Casino” variety. I am not sure what Mr. Hager was thinking exactly. I don’t know if Casinos on the shores of bodies of water get boats that pull up to them traffic. My sense is that they do not — one of the bidders on the Petersburg Casino, “Rivers” built one in Portsmouth but it is not near any water at all, except maybe a fountain or swimming pool. They built one on the Ohio in Pittsburgh and one on the Mohawk in Schenectady but I don’t think either of these towns… Read more »
Well can we at least get some billboards on I-95, I-85 and I-295 so people find the exits. Fewer cars on the roads is a good thing, lives are saved.