Progress at the Energiepark Site
Work at Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt continues to pick up pace – a look back highlights the progress made so far: The connected wind farm has been reliably feeding green electricity into the grid for over a year, ONTRAS has successfully converted the former natural gas pipeline to hydrogen, and the cold commissioning of the gas metering station by VNG Gasspeicher has also begun.
In parallel, a lot has happened at the electrolysis construction site. With the completion of all structural and civil engineering works, the construction phase is officially over – the construction crew has left the site. Everything is now prepared for the upcoming commissioning phase.
Initial Commissioning and System Deployments
Some sub-systems have already been successfully commissioned. The connection to the public power grid via the substation has been established – the low and medium voltage switchgear and transformers are technically ready for operation. The next steps are clearly defined: Starting in September, the auxiliary systems essential for the start of electrolysis will be successively commissioned.
Electrolyzer Stacks on the Way
The next central step is scheduled for the coming weeks: the delivery of the electrolyzer stacks – the central units where hydrogen will be produced in the future. After their arrival on site, these will be assembled and braced. The associated skids, i.e., the control units for the stacks, have already been completely delivered, set up, and partially connected. Ten of these form the technological backbone of the future electrolysis plant.
Early Involvement of Operations Management
A special focus is already on later regular operation: To ensure the transition from the construction phase to the operational phase is as seamless as possible, the operations management team was brought into the project at the beginning of the year. Since then, they have been closely monitoring not only the construction work but also all steps of the commissioning.
The goal remains to complete the technical commissioning of the electrolysis by the turn of the year – a realistic timeline, with all parties working with full force towards a common goal: the successful start of green hydrogen production at Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt.
