GM, Piston plot hydrogen fuel cell factory in Detroit

General Motors Co. and supplier Piston Automotive are planning a hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing plant at the old Michigan State Fairgrounds site in Detroit.

The project, in its beginning stages, would be GM's first standalone facility for the production of fuel cells — a technology it has embraced as a potential new revenue stream in a variety of applications.

Piston, a contract manufacturer owned by former Detroit Pistons guard Vinnie Johnson, is leasing the 292,550-square-foot building developed in Detroit.

The automaker and Piston finalized an agreement this week, said David Massaron, chief economic development and real estate officer for GM.

“It’s great to have a new technology in the city we’re from,” Massaron told Crain’s Detroit Business. “To us, it’s a really exciting investment not only to the future of our company but also an investment in the city, and we’re really proud of it.”

Piston will be making the investment and operating the plant. Financial details and terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Piston declined to comment.

The plant is expected to have around 50 assembly jobs to start, plus other supporting positions. Plans are still being ironed out for the factory, which is a “few years” away from production, Massaron said, adding: “It takes a while to build these things. It’s got to all come together.”

Operators are seeking a special land use permit from the city to establish “high/medium-impact” auto accessory manufacturing in a “general business” zoning district, according to the city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department.

GM declined to say where exactly the fuel cells would go after assembly and for what specific uses, but it is likely they would be used in nonautomotive applications before going into trucks.

Rather than do the fuel cell manufacturing under its own roof, “the low volume of the project at this stage afforded us the opportunity to use Piston,” GM spokesman Kevin Kelly said.

The Detroit automaker has various investments tied to hydrogen, including in Michigan. A GM-Honda joint venture launched production of fuel cell systems this year at a 70,000-square-foot plant in Brownstown Township, about 20 miles south of Detroit. Unlike the planned Piston plant, the one in Brownstown produces components in addition to fuel cells.

The project in Detroit is another major GM business victory for Piston, which is one of the largest Black-owned auto suppliers in the world. Piston Group in August won a long-running lawsuit over its minority certification status.

“We’re excited to be using a minority business enterprise for this particular application in the city of Detroit,” Massaron said.

The fuel cell plan also marks another Piston-GM factory on a high-profile piece of property in southeast Michigan. The supplier was contracted by GM to operate a “value-added assembly” plant on the former Palace of Auburn Hills site, where it plans to invest $278 million and create 960 jobs.

In that arrangement, GM is leasing the building from Schostak Brothers & Co., while Piston will operate it and feed parts to nearby Orion Assembly. Massaron said the structure of such deals is “case by case based on the larger business arrangement."

The new fuel cell factory at the old fairgrounds site would be neighbors with a 3.8-million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center that opened last summer, as well as a Target “sortation” warehouse that opened in August. Massaron said the location was attractive from a logistics and economic impact standpoint.

“It’s an important site to the city from a local economy (perspective),” he said. “It’s a great site for us from an egress perspective and ability for Piston to function in terms of bringing trucks in and out in a way that’s not disruptive.”