Plug Power completes expansion at EBP

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Plug Power Inc., an Albany area provider of modern hydrogen and fuel cell technology, has completed its nearly $4 million expansion in Rochester. The move comes less than a year after the opening of the company’s Eastman Business Park facility.

“As CEO of a prominent Upstate New York business, I am delighted that Plug Power has been able to grow its presence in the great city of Rochester,” Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said in a statement this week.

The company in February announced plans to pump $3.7 million into the former American Fuel Cell facility, which it purchased last June. The expansion was expected to add 80 jobs in Rochester.

The new Rochester facilities include engineering and administrative offices, research and development laboratory space and a warehouse location, officials said this week. The new labs come equipped with cutting-edge technology and ample resources supporting Plug Power’s ongoing efforts to reduce costs, improve durability and develop new materials for its proprietary membrane electrode assembly technology.

The Rochester opening comes at an important time for Plug Power, which recently reported its largest second-quarter in company history. Company officials said Plug Power is on target to be the largest MEA producer in the country by year’s end.

“New York State leadership has been incredibly supportive of the work we’re doing, and the Finger Lakes region has proved itself to be not only rife with incredible talent, but also a wonderful place to live,” Marsh said. “We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing new job opportunities to an area that has been so instrumental to Plug Power’s growth and continued success in recent years.”

In addition to job opportunities, the Rochester expansion also will serve to facilitate Plug Power’s continued collaboration with area schools such as Rochester Institute of Technology, which the company has partnered with in the past on testing and summer internship opportunities.

Founded in 1997, Plug Power focuses on the design, development, commercialization and manufacture of hydrogen and fuel cell systems.

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