Energy company LEAG has obtained approximately EUR 45 million (USD 49 million) in European Union funding to advance a 40-megawatt (MW) hydrogen production and storage complex in the Lusatia mining region of eastern Germany.
The funding, provided through the EU's Just Transition Fund (JTF), was officially handed over at the Jaenschwalde energy site by Brandenburg's energy minister, Joerg Steinbach, to LEAG's CEO, Thorsten Kramer.
The funding will support the development of a 40-MW electrolysis plant and a thermal storage facility at the Jaenschwalde site.
The project includes the construction of a hydrogen storage facility with a capacity of 12 tonnes and a solid heat storage facility capable of holding 1,000 megawatt-hours (MWh).
This infrastructure is intended to enhance the flexibility of green hydrogen supply for industrial and mobility applications, facilitating sector coupling.
The Jaenschwalde hydrogen project is part of LEAG's GigawattFactory initiative, which aims to deploy 7 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030 and 14 GW by 2040, along with integrating storage technologies and developing hydrogen-ready power plants for a reliable supply of green electricity.
In June, LEAG received EUR 58 million from the JTF for a similar large-scale hydrogen production and storage project at its Boxberg site in Saxony.
