eins energie Receives Funding for Hydrogen Connection from Chemnitz

In June, eins energie in sachsen GmbH & Co. KG received grant approvals from the European Union's Just Transition Fund (JTF) totaling more than €30 million. Of this, €20.7 million will be used to prepare for connecting the city of Chemnitz to the future hydrogen core grid. In addition, the construction of a photovoltaic system with large-scale battery storage is planned at the Galgenberg Energy Park.

To connect to the hydrogen core grid, existing natural gas pipelines will be converted to hydrogen, and new pipelines will be built. Chemnitz will be connected to the OPAL pipeline, which runs east of Freiberg and is scheduled to become part of the hydrogen core grid in the early 2030s. Plans include the construction of a transfer control station on the hydrogen core grid east of Freiberg, another control station in the Oederan district of Hartha, and a new transmission line, including control cables, between Hartha and the upstream hydrogen grid. Furthermore, an existing eins energie transmission line will be converted from natural gas to hydrogen.

The new infrastructure is intended to help meet regional hydrogen demand and open up prospects for the decarbonization of industrial processes and district heating in Chemnitz. The project is scheduled for completion in 2029. The investment costs amount to approximately €29.6 million.

Saxony's Minister of Infrastructure, Regina Kraushaar, described hydrogen as a key technology for future energy supply. With the preliminary connection to the core hydrogen grid, eins energie is creating important prerequisites for supplying Chemnitz and southwestern Saxony with climate-friendly energy carriers.