BMW has started building a two-kilometre hydrogen pipeline that will connect its Leipzig plant directly to Germany’s emerging hydrogen network.
The link is due to be completed and operational in the first half of 2028. BMW said this would make its Leipzig plant the world’s first vehicle factory with a direct connection to a hydrogen grid.
BMW had previously targeted hydrogen deliveries from mid-2027, but the latest timetable now puts commissioning in the first half of 2028.
The plant had used hydrogen in internal logistics since 2013 and now operates more than 230 fuel-cell-powered forklifts and tug trains, which BMW described as Europe’s largest such fleet.
Hydrogen use was extended to the paint shop in 2022. Eleven dual-fuel furnaces can switch between natural gas and hydrogen.
Once the pipeline is operating, high-temperature processes such as paint drying could run entirely on hydrogen instead of natural gas. BMW said this could reduce fossil-fuel use while improving energy-supply resilience.
The project is being carried out with Ontras Gastransport and Mitnetz Gas. Ontras is developing the regional hydrogen network, while Mitnetz Gas will build the pipeline connection and associated pressure-regulation and metering station.
The scheme is co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development and the Free State of Saxony.
BMW said the direct connection would allow greater use of hydrogen in production and provide more flexibility in managing energy supply at the Leipzig site.
