Hydrogen Storage – VNG – Press statements on the occasion of the IPCEI funding handover by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck.
Today, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, presented VNG Gasspeicher GmbH (VGS) with the IPCEI funding notice for the GO! Storage hydrogen project in Bad Lauchstädt.
GO! Storage is part of the H2-Infra-Wave. VGS, a wholly owned subsidiary of VNG AG, has received official funding approval for the conversion of an existing natural gas cavern into a hydrogen cavern. The cavern to be converted is part of VGS’s Bad Lauchstädt underground storage facility.
Bodo Rodestock, member of the Board of Management of VNG AG, commented on this at the funding handover:
As a large regional energy company, VNG is making an important contribution to the energy transition in the region. We plan to invest a significant portion of our investments in the expansion of the infrastructure for green gases.
“We are preparing our infrastructure not only to transport hydrogen, but also to store it in order to ensure a flexible and secure supply of hydrogen in the future – and thus to continue to be able to contribute to securing value creation and a sustainable industry in the region.
We are therefore delighted that we have received an official funding commitment from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) for the planned conversion of an existing natural gas cavern into a hydrogen cavern in Bad Lauchstädt. This decision is an important step in being able to make a final investment decision. This makes us confident. The planned hydrogen storage facility in Bad Lauchstädt could, in the long term, supply several industrial regions in Central Germany with hydrogen. In this way, we could support the local industry in decarbonising its processes and becoming future-proof.”
Bernd Protze, Managing Director of VNG Gasspeicher GmbH (VGS), explains the IPCEI funding commitment for VGS:
The storage infrastructure in Central Germany plays a central role in the gas supply in Germany. Today, natural gas is stored in our storage facilities, and in the future it will be hydrogen.
“It is already clear today that hydrogen storage will play an important role in the energy system of the future.
That is why we at VGS have been looking at how we can technically convert our storage facilities to hydrogen for some time. In this sense, we are also a proud consortium partner of the Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park. The IPCEI funding commitment also gives us the impetus to continue planning at our storage site in Bad Lauchstädt to convert an existing cavern so that hydrogen can be stored in it in the future. With a capacity of 46 million Nm³ of hydrogen, it would be the first cavern of this size in Germany. This is an important sign, especially because we are still at the beginning here in Germany. It is important for us to upgrade our storage facilities to meet actual customer demand, even if this will not happen overnight.”
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Hydrogen Storage – VNG – Press statements on the occasion of the IPCEI funding handover by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck. source
