GM pauses $55M hydrogen plant with Piston Automotive in Detroit
General Motors has suspended a $55 million project with Piston Automotive to manufacture hydrogen fuel cells at a plant on the old State Fairgrounds site in Detroit.
The automaker paused work at the plant and will determine whether to move forward with it in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter told Automotive News affiliate Crain's Detroit Business.
Piston, which counts GM among its top customers, entered into an agreement with the automaker last September to lease and operate a 292,550-square-foot plant, where it expected to create 144 jobs. It is the first standalone plant dedicated to fuel cell production for GM.
GM spokesman Kevin Kelly declined to provide details about the status of the project other than to say it has not been cancelled.
Piston declined to comment.
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The reason for GM pausing the project is not clear, but it comes at a challenging time for the automotive industry. Carmakers and suppliers are navigating the impact of tariffs under the Trump administration and at the same time grappling with how to place their bets on future propulsion systems as regulations and consumer demand shift. GM executives said earlier this month they anticipate a $5 billion hit this year from tariffs.
The hydrogen holdup is the latest GM project in Michigan facing uncertainty. The automaker is reassessing product plans for the long-delayed Orion Assembly Plant 35 miles North of Detroit in Oakland County and the future of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit remains unclear as GM prepares to move its headquarters to Dan Gilbert's Hudson's Detroit development.
GM has plenty of company when it comes to indecision about new propulsion investments. Michigan saw a wave of hydrogen and battery plant announcements a couple of years ago, but many of them have either been stalled, shrunk or scrapped. Economic development officials say that most of the projects will pay off, but it will just take longer than expected.
GM was among several manufacturers to be awarded a chunk of $750 million by the U.S. Energy Department a year ago under then-President Joe Biden to boost hydrogen fuel cell production. Some of that funding, which GM has yet to receive and is in question under President Donald Trump, was committed to pay for tooling at the Detroit plant.
The plant was intended for low-volume production, but GM declined to say how it would use the fuel cells. It is likely they would be used in nonautomotive applications before going into trucks. In addition to the Piston supply deal, GM has a joint venture with Honda producing fuel cell systems at a 70,000-square-foot plant in Brownstown Township, 20 miles South of Detroit. Unlike the Piston plant, the one in Brownstown Township produces components in addition to fuel cells.
Piston was awarded $1.5 million performance-based grant from the state in January to support the hydrogen project. Michigan Economic Development Corp. spokesman Otie McKinley said none of that money has been disbursed.
Piston, owned by former Detroit Pistons guard Vinnie Johnson, a Crain's 2024 Newsmaker of the Year, has a large chunk of business tied to GM projects in a holding pattern. The supplier was tapped by GM to operate a $278 million, 960-job plant at the former Palace of Auburn Hills site to supply Orion Assembly.
At the old State Fairgrounds site, Piston was tasked with making the investment and creating the jobs under a nine-year contract, though the exact financial structure of the deal is unclear, as is the amount of money that has been invested so far.
The building occupied by the hydrogen program is part of a massive speculative redevelopment project completed by Sterling Group and Hillwood. Greg Scovitch, vice president of development for Hillwood, told Crain's this month he was unaware of any changes with the user's plans.Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
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