Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park
Real-life laboratory of the energy transition
The Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park, currently under development in central Germany, is emerging as one of Germany's most significant hydrogen projects. As a large-scale real-world laboratory, it will be the first to test the entire green hydrogen value chain on an industrial scale: from production using renewable wind power, through storage and transportation, to industrial use.
The project provides valuable insights for developing a high-performance hydrogen economy and demonstrates how renewable energies, hydrogen technologies, and existing energy infrastructures can be intelligently integrated.
A consortium has been founded for the realisation of the energy park. Several companies are involved:
- Terrawatt Planungsgesellschaft mbH
- Uniper SE
- VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH
- VNG Gasspeicher GmbH
- ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH
- DBI – Gastechnologisches Institut gGmbH Freiberg
- VNG AG
Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park wins H2Eco Award
Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park is this year's winner of the H2Eco Award as a flagship project for the energy transition. The prize was awarded on 23 April 2024, as part of HANNOVER MESSE 2024.
Green Hydrogen: A Key Element of the Energy Transition
Since 2021, the German Federal Government has supported the Energy Park Bad Lauchstädt as a “Living Lab for the Energy Transition”, promoting the large-scale testing of innovative hydrogen technologies under real-world conditions. The aim is to generate insights for the development of a hydrogen economy and to support the creation of appropriate market and regulatory frameworks.
The process chain being tested at the Energy Park demonstrates the potential of green hydrogen for the energy transition. As a versatile energy carrier, it makes it possible to store electricity generated from renewable sources over the long term, transport it, and make it usable across different sectors. This enables renewable energy to be used even in energy-intensive industries such as chemicals and steel production.
“Accelerating the energy transition and rapidly expanding renewable energy sources are essential for secure energy supply and more important today than ever before. We must consistently take the necessary steps towards climate neutrality. Hydrogen produced from renewable energy is a key element in this process. At the Energy Park Bad Lauchstädt, a value chain is being established that spans wind energy, hydrogen production, storage, transport and utilization. Reference projects like this demonstrate that the energy transition can work on a large scale.”
– Dr. Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, during his visit to the Energy Park Bad Lauchstädt in August 2022.
With the achievement of the RFNBO certification (Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin) in summer 2026, the Energy Park Bad Lauchstädt reached a major milestone. The certification confirms that hydrogen production at the site meets European requirements for renewable hydrogen and thereby establishes an essential prerequisite for its commercial marketability.
The Energy Park is currently in the commissioning phase. Before the end of 2026, green hydrogen is expected to flow through the entire process chain for the first time. The experience gained will provide valuable insights for further market scale-up and the development of a robust hydrogen infrastructure. At the same time, the project strengthens the innovation capacity and competitiveness of Central Germany as an industrial region and supports the transition towards a climate-neutral energy system.
Bad Lauchstädt energy park
In the future, the entire green hydrogen value chain will be tested on an industrial scale at the Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park Real-life Laboratory. Green hydrogen is produced, stored, transported and put to practical use at the Park.
