ONTRAS and MITNETZ GAS connect BMW Leipzig plant to the hydrogen core network

The BMW Group, ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH, and MITNETZ GAS today laid the contractual foundation for the long-term supply of the BMW Leipzig plant with hydrogen. With the signing of the agreement, the plant will be connected to the ONTRAS H2-Startnetz – part of the hydrogen core network that links key industrial centers in Eastern and Central Germany.

Under the agreement, ONTRAS will be responsible for the grid connection, while MITNETZ GAS will construct the approximately two-kilometer connection pipeline. Commissioning of the project is scheduled for mid-2027. Even today, BMW already uses hydrogen in parts of its intralogistics and in the paint shop at the Leipzig plant.

As part of the nationwide hydrogen core network, the ONTRAS H2-Startnetz links industrial hubs such as Berlin, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Salzgitter, and Central Saxony. For the Leipzig site, an existing pipeline will be converted to hydrogen operation. In parallel, a new natural gas pipeline will be built to ensure that hydrogen and natural gas are transported separately and that existing gas customers remain unaffected. In total, new pipelines with a length of around eight kilometers are planned.

Through close cooperation with several production sites, ONTRAS aims to secure sufficient hydrogen supply. The gas transmission system operator has signed a letter of intent to connect Infener’s H2 Hub to the ONTRAS H2-Startnetz. In addition, ONTRAS, together with network operators from Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, is planning the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor (NBHC), through which up to 2.7 million tons of hydrogen could be imported annually from Finland by 2040.