The once-heralded Gotion battery plant in Mecosta County is officially headed for the history books.
Electric vehicle battery maker Gotion and Green Charter Township have reached a settlement in a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit, ending plans for the proposed $2.4 billion plant, 9&10 News reported. The parties said they couldn't comment until the agreement is finalized.
For Northern Michigan's construction industry, it closes the book on what was billed as one of the largest projects the region had ever seen.
What the settlement does
Gotion sued the township in March 2024 for nearly $24 million in damages over a breach of contract claim. Under the agreement, according to 9&10 News:
- Gotion will drop the lawsuit, walk away from the project entirely, and return the land it acquired for development to the Michigan State Land Bank.
- The state of Michigan will drop its demand that Gotion repay more than $24 million in grant funding used to buy the property.
- Green Charter Township will repay $160,000 related to a drafted fire contract amendment, plus $1 in damages.
- All remaining counts are dismissed with prejudice, meaning they can't be refiled.
All parties agreed to end every existing project agreement and drop their claims against each other. The settlement ends litigation that cost the township hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
How it fell apart
The project was first proposed in 2022. The Chinese-owned company's plant was billed as the largest economic development effort in Northern Michigan history and promised 2,300 jobs, 9&10 News reported.
It ran into local and statewide opposition over environmental concerns and alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. That pushback led to the recall of the entire Green Charter Township Board in November 2023.
After the election, the new board rescinded contracts the former board had agreed to. Township Supervisor Jason Kruse said at the time that the board had the legal right to do so, saying the former board signed the agreement in haste before the recall and that no properly executed development deal existed.
By fall 2024, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. had pulled more than $175 million in approved tax incentives. The agency sent Gotion a letter saying the company had abandoned the property, noting no work had happened at the site for at least four months.
In January, Attorney General Dana Nessel ordered Gotion to repay more than $23 million in grant money that had been distributed. Gotion responded that it would surrender the land rather than repay the money, according to 9&10 News. (The station's report cited both "more than $24 million" and "more than $23 million" for the grant amount.)
Not quite final
Gotion declined to comment until the agreement is officially finalized, and the township also declined for the same reason. The Attorney General's Office had not responded to requests for comment, the station reported.
What we don't know
The report didn't say what the Michigan State Land Bank plans to do with the property, or when the settlement is expected to be finalized. The future of the land, and whether it gets marketed to another user, is the next question.
Why it matters for contractors
A $2.4 billion manufacturing plant would have meant years of site, structural, electrical, mechanical and process work for Northern Michigan contractors, plus spinoff demand for housing and services around 2,300 jobs. That work isn't coming.
The bigger lesson is about risk. This project had state incentives, a land purchase and development agreements, and it still collapsed under local opposition, a board recall and a federal lawsuit. Contractors weighing whether to staff up or buy equipment around a single mega-project should keep that in mind.
The land itself is the thing to watch now. Once it's back with the State Land Bank, it could be offered for another use. Contractors in the Mecosta County area should keep an eye on what the state does with the site.