DETROIT ? Gov. Rick Snyder announced Tuesday during the North American International Auto Show that the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center in Superior Township plans to add 50 new jobs over the next three years as part of a $15 million expansion.

The expansion, which involves a new environmental chamber used for testing vehicles in extreme temperatures, is contingent upon the approval of state incentives later this month. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. will pay DTE Energy $2.5-million for a new electric substation to provide the tech center with more reliable electric power.

Those funds will be repaid over time using tax dollars from a Local Development Financing Authority (LDFA) recently established by the Superior Township Board of Trustees in consultation with economic development group Ann Arbor SPARK.

In return, the automaker will build a $15-million environmental testing chamber and hire 50 people to run it. Superior Township eventually will return to the state its $2.5-million investment, paying with additional property taxes from Hyundai.

The deal is the first peek at how Gov. Rick Snyder who, in his first year in office, has mostly rid the state of tax incentives paid to draw businesses in the past, plans to attract business investment.

Instead of tax breaks that often require choosing winners and losers, Snyder won a lower overall business tax.

“This investment … in Michigan reinforces Hyundai and Kia’s commitment to U.S. vehicle development and American jobs,” said Won Suk Cho, president of the technical center, in a statement. “Investing in our locations, products and people is critical to Hyundai and Kia’s ability to compete with the best in the business. Hyundai and Kia are committed to doing everything it takes to work with its partners, including the state of Michigan, to be competitive in the marketplace.”

Hyundai already employs about 170 workers at the facility, which conducts powertrain testing, calibration and some general engineering and design activities for Hyundai vehicles.

SPARK CEO Paul Krutko told Ann Arbor.Com that the Superior Township board agreed to abate 50 percent of the property taxes associated with Hyundai?s expansion and keep 25 percent for itself. The other 25 percent will be delivered to the Michigan Strategic Fund over time to repay the costs of an electrical system upgrade Hyundai desperately needed.

Krutko described the funding structure as a creative model that meets Hyundai?s needs and could set the stage for similar economic development strategies throughout the state.

?We?re really excited about the project,? Krutko said. ?We think with this one we?ve figured out the direction the state was moving in and actually were able to pull together a company, a political jurisdiction and a state to come up with a proposal.?

Since opening its 200,000-square-foot technical center on Geddes Road in 2005, Hyundai has had numerous electrical problems at the facility. Because it uses sensitive testing equipment like a dynamometer, the facility is prone to electrical outages when current fluctuates ? which also causes problems for the company?s network infrastructure.

Hyundai had indicated that it would not launch an expansion without a reliable electrical system.

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