Gotion Faces a Standstill with Michigan Over Multi-Million Dollar Grant
Controversy surrounds Gotion, a Chinese-owned battery manufacturer, as it refuses to return a substantial grant awarded by Michigan despite halting its planned electric vehicle (EV) battery plant. The standoff stems from local resistance and political tensions that have prevented the project’s progress.
The state of Michigan, in 2023, awarded Gotion nearly $24 million as part of a broader incentive package to purchase land for a new battery plant in Green Charter Township, located north of Big Rapids. However, the project encountered significant local opposition due to concerns about Gotion’s connections to the Chinese Communist Party. The backlash led to the recall of five township officials who supported the initiative, with two others stepping down from their positions.
Newly appointed leaders in the township have since obstructed the plant’s development by refusing to issue necessary permits. Gotion’s attorney, Mark V. Heusel, reported that the company has faced “an onslaught of attacks, threats, unfounded accusations, and anti-China sentiment,” resulting in the project’s suspension. Consequently, Gotion initiated a lawsuit against the township in federal court by March 2024.
By late 2025, Michigan declared Gotion had breached its agreement, prompting the state’s Attorney General’s office to demand a refund of the grant by late January. However, Gotion argues that the demand is unjust, as external factors halted the project.
Heusel explained in a letter to the Michigan Attorney General that the grant money was specifically intended for land acquisition to build the manufacturing facility. He stated, “The money that the State is now seeking to recover from Gotion was advanced for the specific purpose of purchasing the land for the construction of a manufacturing facility, but due to the actions of Green Charter Township, Gotion cannot develop this Project on that land.” He further emphasized that the land is now “undevelopable and is useless to Gotion.”
Gotion proposes that Green Charter Township should either buy back the land for the original purchase price of $23.7 million or that the state should forgive the loan and repurpose the land for future use. As of now, there has been no response from the Michigan Attorney General’s office regarding this proposal, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which managed the incentive package, has also declined to comment.
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