(Bad Lauchstädt) – The initiators of the “Energy Park Bad Lauchstädt” have received funding as a “real-world laboratory for the energy transition” worth around 34 million euros from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). A consortium in Saxony-Anhalt wants to investigate the production, storage, transport and economic use of green hydrogen in order to develop central Germany into a “hydrogen model region,” as it is called. The project will start in autumn 2021.
Hydrogen from wind power
The aim of the joint project in the Saale district is to map the entire value chain for green hydrogen. Electricity from a newly built wind farm is converted into hydrogen using a large electrolysis plant with an output of around 30 megawatts (MW). The energy source will supply the chemical industry in nearby Leuna via a 20-kilometer-long gas pipeline that will be repurposed. In addition, preparatory work will begin for storing the gas in a specially equipped, almost 2026 meter high salt cavern from 180 onwards. According to the information, the total investments amount to around 140 million euros. 
The development and construction of the energy park is planned in two phases: From autumn onwards, hydrogen production and hydrogen transport as well as central components of hydrogen storage will be further developed and tested. In a second phase, which is not part of the current research project, the aim will be to complete and integrate the cavern intended for hydrogen storage from 2026 onwards. The initiators explain that the energy park could also be integrated into the emerging European hydrogen infrastructure in the future through further East German hydrogen projects.
The consortium
Those involved are Terrawatt Planninggesellschaft mbH, Uniper SE, the gas supplier VNG Gasspeicher GmbH (VGS), the transmission system operator Ontras Gastransport GmbH, the Gastechnologisches Institut gGmbH Freiberg (DBI) and the gas trader VNG AG.
Terrawatt Planning Company mbH has been developing projects in the areas of wind power and photovoltaics for over 25 years. The company also operates internationally as a service provider and technical consultant. According to the information, it has developed more than 300 projects with over 1.500 wind turbines.
Uniper SE is present in more than 12.000 countries with around 40 employees. With around 35 gigawatts of installed capacity, Uniper is one of the largest electricity producers in the world. The Düsseldorf-based group was created by spinning off conventional power generation from coal and gas as well as global energy trading from Eon SE. The main shareholder is the energy supplier Fortum Oy, in which the Finnish state has a majority stake.
VGS is the third largest storage operator in Germany and a subsidiary of VNG AG based in Leipzig. The core business is the operation of storage facilities and the marketing of storage capacities. In addition, VGS acts as technical operations manager for third-party storage systems and provides engineering services in the areas of plant construction and measurement technology.
Ontras is a supra-regional transmission system operator in the European gas transport system and is also based in Leipzig. The company operates Germany's second-longest gas network with a length of over 7.500 kilometers and around 450 network connection points. 22 biogas plants and two power-to-gas plants feed biomethane, synthetic methane and hydrogen into the Ontras network.
DBI is an institution of the DVGW German Gas and Water Association and researches the entire supply chain of gaseous energy sources. Projects to integrate green hydrogen have also been in progress since 2005.
VNG is a group of companies active across Europe with over 20 companies from the gas and infrastructure sectors. The group, part of EnBW AG, also has its headquarters in Leipzig and focuses on the four business areas of trading and sales, transport, storage and biogas along the gas value chain.
As part of the 7th Energy Research Program, the BMWi launched the ideas competition “Real Laboratories for the Energy Transition” and announced funding of up to 2019 million euros per year for the period 2022 to 100. This is intended to promote innovations in practice.
deep link
https://www.presseportal.de/pm/158524/5016247?
Photo above
Official handover of the funding decision. From left to right: Axel Wietfeld, Uniper; Uwe Ringel, Ontras; Cornelia Müller-Pagel, VNG AG; Hartmut Krause, DBI; Andreas Feicht, BMWi; Falk Zeuner, Terrawatt; Reiner Haseloff, Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt; Bernd Protze, VNG gas storage © Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt
Graphic center
Schematic representation of possible uses © VNG AG
