Plug Power loses Tax Tribunal fight with Warren over hydrogen forklift gear at Stellantis plants

WARREN — Hydrogen company Plug Power has lost its bid to wipe out Warren property taxes on the fuel-cell forklift system it runs inside two Stellantis plants on Mound Road.

In a final opinion dated Oct. 27, Michigan Tax Tribunal Judge Joshua M. Wease upheld the city’s 2023 taxable value of $12,548,246 on the equipment, parcel 12-99-01-168-360. A second parcel in the case was dismissed because Plug did not present evidence on it. Bloomberg Tax reported the ruling Friday.

What Plug wanted

Plug asked the tribunal to treat the gear as “eligible manufacturing personal property,” which Michigan exempts from property tax under MCL 211.9m. The property includes hydrogen fuel cells that power forklifts, nine hydrogen dispensers and a large outdoor storage tank at 21500 and 22800 Mound Road, the Warren Stamping and Warren Truck Assembly sites. The tribunal heard the case April 21.

According to the opinion, Plug sold the equipment to Signature Finance for $33,021,700 and leased it back for 78 months: $20,423,000 for fuel cells and $12,598,700 for infrastructure. Plug’s 2021 proposals to the plants covered 130 fork trucks at Warren Stamping and 142 fuel cells at Warren Truck. Warren argued Plug was a leasing company, which cannot claim the exemption; the judge disagreed.

Why it lost

The judge found the fuel cells themselves qualify as industrial processing or direct integrated support, because the forklifts move parts in the manufacturing flow. But the storage tank and other infrastructure did not get the same finding, and the exemption has more tests.

The property has to sit on “occupied real property” of the company claiming the break. Plug proved its employees occupy service areas where they repair fuel cells. But most fuel cells ride in forklifts driven by Stellantis workers around the plants, and the tribunal found no evidence Plug workers occupy the dispensing stations or the outdoor tank site.

The judge also concluded the property’s predominant use “cannot be calculated,” noting conflicting counts of fuel cells in the record: 291 in the leasing documents, 142 and 130 in the proposals, and 230 in testimony. The opinion said Plug did not meet its burden of proof that the property qualifies.

The tribunal ordered the assessment rolls to reflect the upheld value. Plug can ask the tribunal to reconsider or appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Sources:
Michigan Tax Tribunal, Plug Power Inc v City of Warren, MTT Docket No. 23-000800, Final Opinion and Judgment, Oct. 27, 2026 (values, parcels, findings, sale-leaseback, proposals, fuel cell counts), https://www.michigan.gov/taxtrib/-/media/Project/Websites/taxtrib/Entire-Tribunal-Decisions/2026/23-000800-Plug-Power-ET_FOJ.pdf?rev=9bc643daa82444c7b1cdb069daefc7e3&hash=F97E3A2B60BDF962F3209289312CF1EB
Bloomberg Tax, Oct. 30, 2026 (report of ruling)
Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warren_-_Warren_Civic_Center_(50826952147).jpg

Warren

Tags: Warren · Plug Power · Stellantis · Michigan Tax Tribunal · Hydrogen · Property tax