Stephan Sachse

VNG AG

VNG is a group of companies active throughout Europe with over 20 subsidiaries, a broad, sustainable portfolio of gas and infrastructure services and over 60 years of experience in the energy market. The corporation, headquartered in Leipzig, Germany, has approximately 1,300 employees and generated billed revenue of approximately 9.8 billion euros in the 2020 financial year. Along the gas value chain, VNG focuses on four business areas: Trading & Sales, Transport, Storage and Biogas. On the basis of its core competency in the field of natural gas, VNG is increasingly focusing on new fields of business such as green gases and digital infrastructures in line with its VNG 2030+ strategy. In the field of green gases, VNG is pursuing ambitious plans for hydrogen. For example, together with other partners the company is developing the Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park in southern Saxony-Anhalt. The aim is to convert renewable electricity from a new wind farm into hydrogen, by means of a large-scale electrolysis plant with a capacity of up to 30 megawatts (MW); and then to supply the hydrogen to the chemical industry via a 20-kilometre-long natural gas pipeline. In addition, the green hydrogen produced is to be temporarily stored in a specially equipped, almost 180-metre-high salt cavern at the site of an existing natural gas storage facility. More information: www.vng.de.