Despite rainy weather, around 130 hydrogen enthusiasts accepted the consortium’s invitation to this year’s Public Information Day on Saturday, August 22, 2026. The focus was on the questions: What is currently happening on the extensive operating site? Which milestones have already been achieved on the path to commissioning? And what still needs to happen before the first green hydrogen can be produced?
From Wind Power to Green Hydrogen
At the information stands of the seven consortium partners, visitors could learn about the individual steps of the hydrogen value chain. It was clearly explained how renewable electricity from the neighboring wind farm will be used in the future in the 30-megawatt electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen, which will then be processed and transported via the approximately 25-kilometer converted pipeline to the anchor customer, the TotalEnergies Leuna refinery.
Information posters and conversations with contact persons made the technical connections tangible and provided space for individual questions. A special highlight this year was again the visitor platform with a view of the energy park.
Knowledge about Hydrogen
The Public Information Day made it clear that interest in green hydrogen in the region is based on a sometimes profound prior knowledge. Cornelia Müller-Pagel, overall project manager of the consortium building the energy park, emphasizes: “Quite a few visitors work or have worked in regional industry and brought a corresponding amount of technical understanding. Many questions revolved around concrete technical solutions and the integration of the energy park into the existing infrastructure. This exchange provides us as a project team with valuable insights and shows how intensively people here are engaging with the opportunities and challenges of the hydrogen economy.” The hydrogen quiz clearly demonstrated the visitors’ high level of prior knowledge, resulting in many happy winners receiving small tokens of appreciation for successful participation.
Commissioning Underway – First Molecule Flow Nears
The Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt is now in the midst of its commissioning phase. Numerous important milestones have already been reached, and further plants and systems are currently being inspected, tested, and progressively commissioned. In this process, individual components are increasingly being integrated into a functional overall system.
Attention is now turning to the next major step: the first green molecule flow. Hydrogen is expected to be produced for the first time at the energy park later this year.
