Danish manufacturer Topsoe buys land in Chesterfield to build $400 million factory

The Danish manufacturer has reserved land for a nine-figure factory it plans to build at Meadowville Technology Park.

Topsoe recently acquired 57 acres of land at 11700 Meadowville Lane and 1301 Meadowville Technology Parkway for about $5 million, according to online land records. The company plans to build a manufacturing facility there that will produce electrolyzer cells for “clean hydrogen” fuel.

The company purchased the property from the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority.

The acquisition gives Topsoe the land it needs to build a 280,000-square-foot, $400 million facility. A company spokesman said this week that no construction timeline has been set, but that the plant is expected to take two years to build and will be built in one phase.

According to a Chesterfield memo, the facility itself is expected to cost $140 million and its equipment $260 million.

The land transaction was registered with the county in late June. The plots that make up the project site did not have an assessed value listed in online land registers.

In the spring, the Danish company announced that the Chesterfield plant is its largest investment in the United States to date.

The plant plans to produce solid oxide electrolyzer cells, which use electricity to generate what Topsoe calls “clean hydrogen” that is used as a fuel source. The cells to be produced at the plant are intended for heavy industry users, such as chemical and cement manufacturers and the transportation industry.

Topsoe is designing the Chesterfield facility with Swiss automation company ABB and Texas construction firm Fluor. A general contractor has not yet been named.

Topsoe previously said the plant is expected to create 150 jobs. The Chesterfield plant would be the company’s first in the Richmond region. It has a manufacturing facility outside Houston, Texas.

In recent months, Topsoe also concluded an agreement with the district for a subsidy for the implementation of tasks.

The agreement states that Topsoe is entitled to receive $2.1 million from Chesterfield, money that would come from the proceeds of a land sale that recently closed, according to a county memo. The funds are requested as matching funds for a $6 million grant from the state Commonwealth Opportunity Fund.

The grant agreement also calls for an annual payment from the county equal to the amount of the machinery and tools tax that Topsoe will pay for six years after the project is completed. It is estimated to be $3.9 million.

Topsoe will be eligible to benefit from the county grant if it completes its project by Dec. 31, 2029. The Board of Supervisors approved the grant agreement in May.

In addition to the county grant, Topsoe expects to use $136 million in federal tax credits for the project and is eligible to receive state economic development aid in addition to Commonwealth Opportunity Fund funding.

The Topsoe plant is to be built at the northern end of Meadowville Technology Park, across from a future $1 billion Lego brick manufacturing facility.