Feierliche Inbetriebnahme von Transportleitung im Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt durch ONTRAS
Copyright: Tom Schulze
04-08-2025

First Section of the Hydrogen Core Grid in Eastern Germany Goes into Operation

At the Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park (EBL), a 25-kilometre-long transport pipeline has now gone into operation, connecting the electrolyzer currently under construction with the TotalEnergies refinery in Leuna. With the initial filling of the pipeline, several milestones have been reached at once: Firstly, work on another value-adding stage of the energy park has been completed, and the pipeline is now ready to transport hydrogen. At the same time, ONTRAS has completed the first section of the hydrogen core grid in Eastern Germany with this pipeline segment, which also marks the initial component of the ONTRAS H2-Start Grid. As a central artery, the FGL 701 pipeline enables the connection of further hydrogen core grid projects, such as Green Octopus Mitteldeutschland (GO!) heading towards Magdeburg-Salzgitter or the Central German Chemical Triangle and the Leipzig-Halle region (LHyVE). This also makes the energy park part of the European Hydrogen Backbone.

At the inauguration ceremony, Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister for Science, Energy, Climate Protection and the Environment, Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann, emphasized: “With the commissioning of this hydrogen pipeline, we are sending an important signal: the development of the hydrogen economy and core grid is not just a theoretical vision for the future – it is already becoming a reality. Especially in economically turbulent times, we must not shy away from investment but must set the course for the future. I am convinced that the hydrogen core ngrid will gradually evolve into a vital lifeline for energy-intensive industries. Particularly here in Saxony-Anhalt, the production, storage, and use of green hydrogen will create new jobs and added value.”

“This transport pipeline is a key component of the energy park and the first H2 pipeline of the core grid in Eastern Germany. It enables us to transport approximately 2,700 tonnes of green hydrogen per year to the customer in Leuna,” said Gunar Schmidt, ONTRAS Managing Director for Operations and Safety. “We are demonstrating that a gas pipeline from the 1980s can indeed play a crucial role in the energy system of the future.” After a thorough technical inspection, various upgrades for green hydrogen transport, and disconnection from the natural gas grid, the pipeline is now filled with hydrogen and officially approved for H2 transport. “In the coming months, until the electrolyzer is commissioned, we will use the test operation to gain important insights into transporting hydrogen along this route—so we’ll be well-prepared for full operation,” Schmidt explained.

“With the wind farm already in operation and the hydrogen pipeline completed, two key components of the energy park’s value chain are in place. This proves in practice that existing gas infrastructure can and will play a vital role in the energy world of tomorrow. As soon as the electrolyzer is operational and the offtake station in Leuna is ready, the entire green hydrogen value chain will be up and running. The first deliveries of hydrogen are expected later this year—a unique success story, made in Eastern Germany,” said Cornelia Müller-Pagel, spokesperson for the EBL consortium and Head of Green Gases at VNG AG.

“What begins here today with a 25-kilometre pipeline is also the starting point for the ONTRAS H2-Start Grid. ONTRAS’s planned hydrogen transport network, with around 600 kilometres of pipeline, will be a key part of the emerging nationwide H2 core grid. The connections to other hydrogen projects in Germany and Europe created through this will be of particular value,” added Hans-Joachim Polk, Chairman of the ONTRAS Supervisory Board and Executive Board Member for Infrastructure & Technology at VNG AG.

By the end of 2025, once construction of the electrolyzer and completion of the offtake station in Leuna are finalized, green hydrogen produced with electricity from the wind farm at the Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park will begin flowing through the pipeline to the TotalEnergies refinery in Leuna – bringing the entire value chain to life.

Source: https://www.vng.de/en/de/newsroom/2025-04-08-ONTRAS-nimmt-Transportleitung-im-Energiepark-Bad-Lauchstaedt-in-Betrieb

Further news

  • Copyright: Swen Gottschall/DIE GAS- UND  WASSERSTOFFWIRTSCHAFT

    Offshore Pipeline to Connect British Hydrogen with German Demand

    German transmission system operator GASCADE Gastransport GmbH and UK transmission system operator National Gas have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the feasibility of a hydrogen corridor between the UK and Germany in the North Sea through an offshore pipeline connection – an important (…)

  • Copyright: Höegh Evi

    Offshore Ammonia Cracker Ready for Deployment

    Höegh Evi, a global leader in marine energy infrastructure, and Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, part of technology group Wärtsilä, have successfully completed development of the world’s first floating ammonia-to-hydrogen cracker. This breakthrough technology enables floating import terminals to produce hydrogen at industrial-scale volumes from transported ammonia, (…)

  • Pioneering Hydrogen Infrastructure to Cost 50 Billion Euros

    The new federal government faces the immense challenge of making Germany’s energy supply secure, affordable, and climate-neutral in the long term. Hydrogen will play a central role in this transition, as a reliable energy supply in the future will require both molecules and electrons – (…)

  • Das neue H2-ready Fuel-Switch Kraftwerk der EnBW in Stuttgart-Münster

    EnBW Commissions H₂ Power Plant

    Against a backdrop of intensive policy debate on the legal framework for financing urgently needed investment in dispatchable power plant capacity, EnBW has officially commissioned one of Germany’s first hydrogen-ready gas turbine power plants at its Stuttgart-Münster site. The project is an important signal for (…)

  • Copyright: Gascade

    Gascade Fills First Pipeline with Hydrogen

    GASCADE Gastransport GmbH has reached an important milestone in the energy transition: the first filling of a pipeline section with hydrogen as part of the Flow – making hydrogen happen program has been successfully launched. This ambitious project marks a decisive step towards converting the (…)

  • Wasserstoffmoleküle

    BMZ Invests 30 Million Euros in Hydrogen Project in Morocco

    The PtX Development Fund initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has agreed a start-up investment in Morocco for the development of green hydrogen production and the conversion of fertilizer production to renewable energies. The aim is to build up (…)

  • Wasserstoffleitung

    EU Promotes Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor

    The EU Commission’s decision will significantly advance the development of a European hydrogen infrastructure. In the competition for EU infrastructure funding, this decision is proof of the quality and necessity of the NBHC project and demonstrates its potential to contribute to the EU’s energy self-sufficiency (…)

  • Wasserstoffleitung

    Five Countries Sign Hydrogen Corridor Agreement in Rome

    As part of the first ministerial conference for the Southern Hydrogen Corridor, Germany, Algeria, Italy, Austria and Tunisia signed a declaration of intent (JDol) on the development of the Southern Hydrogen Corridor in Rome today. The conference was attended by ministers, high-ranking delegations and representatives of (…)

  • KfW-Gebäude KfW-Bildarchiv / Rüdiger Nehmzow

    KfW Supports Hydrogen Projects in Chile

    In the beginning of Janury on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), KfW signed an agreement with the Republic of Chile, represented by the Chilean Ministry of Finance, and the Chilean Economic Development Agency Cooperación de Fomento de la (…)

  • Alliance on the H2Med Southwestern Hydrogen Corridor

    New Alliance Connects Hydrogen Projects in Southwest Europe

    Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), DH2 Energy España, Elyse Energy, Hydrogène de France, HYNAMICS, Moeve, Qair, Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co KGaA, thyssenkrupp nucera, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (energy and technology companies), and the promoters of the H2med project—Enagás, GRTgaz, OGE, (…)

  • Copyright: Zukunft Gas

    Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor Enters Next Phase

    The European transmission system operators (TSOs) from Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH (ONTRAS) are launching the feasibility phase for the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor (NBHC). Following the successful completion of the pre-feasibility study earlier this year, the project partners will now conduct (…)

  • Copyright: Anika Dollmeyer

    VNG and HyCC plan to produce green hydrogen

    The Leipzig-based energy company VNG AG, its wholly-owned gas trading subsidiary VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH (VNG H&V) and the Dutch hydrogen company HyCC are planning to jointly develop an electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. The green hydrogen is intended to help (…)