To this end, the company has submitted an application for approval to the responsible planning approval authority, the State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG). The project requires a planning approval procedure with an environmental impact assessment and public participation. The relevant application documents are now available.
The pipeline, which is around 23 kilometers long and runs from Peine to Salzgitter (see map below), has a pipe diameter of DN 800 (approx. 80 centimeters). The planning approval procedure for ETL 186 also includes the construction and operation of a valve station in Vallstedt and the Watenstedt station as a transfer point from ETL 186 to the Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH plant.
The pipeline, which runs at least one meter deep, is to be laid using a predominantly open trench construction method. The pipelines will only run above ground within the stations. In sensitive areas, individual sections will be constructed using the closed trench method, for example by means of horizontal directional drilling (HDD), in order to minimize the impact on the surface.
The project also includes all areas and facilities required during the construction period as well as the permanent securing of a ten-metre-wide protective strip on both sides for the operation of the pipeline. Suitable access roads will also be set up. The municipalities of Lengede and Vechelde and the towns of Peine and Salzgitter are affected by the project and the delivery traffic.
Interpretation and inspection of the application documents
The application documents will be on public display from Friday, June 5, 2026, until Monday, July 6, 2026.
The public exhibition will be held exclusively in electronic form on the internet at www.lbeg.niedersachsen.de (opens in a new tab) and on the Lower Saxony EIA portal www.uvp-verbund.de/. (opens in a new tab)
These internet addresses can also be used to access the public announcement of the public display, which contains important information for those affected.
No internet access?
If there is no internet access, residents can request a data carrier with the application documents for the duration of the public exhibition (contact: State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology, Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hanover or phone 05141 / 88887-15).
Objections to the project
Anyone whose interests could be affected by the project can send objections to the project by email to etl186lbeg.niedersachsende until one month after the end of the exhibition period, i.e. by Thursday, August 6, 2026.
Objections can also be submitted verbally by prior appointment by calling 05141 / 88887-15 at the LBEG in 29221 Celle, Hannoversche Str. 30a.
Background:
The hydrogen core network approved by the Federal Network Agency also provides for the creation of a pipeline infrastructure for the transportation of hydrogen between Peine and Salzgitter. The ETL 186 pipeline from Woltorf near Peine to Hallendorf near Salzgitter is part of this core network approval as the new hydrogen pipeline KLN023-01. The hydrogen core network and the hydrogen pipelines approved by the Federal Network Agency are deemed to be necessary and urgent for the energy industry, as well as being in the overriding public interest and serving public safety (Section 28q (8) sentence 5 and Section 43l (1) of the Energy Industry Act).
The Federal Network Agency's approval of October 22, 2024 for the hydrogen core network can be found at www.bundesnetzagentur.de (opens in a new tab) ETL 186 from Woltorf near Peine to Hallendorf near Salzgitter is listed there under the identifier KLN023-01 "Peine-Hallendorf".
On June 8, 2023, the Greater Braunschweig Regional Association decided not to carry out a regional planning procedure for the line, which was still referred to as ETL 184 at the time, and laid down requirements in its decision that must be observed in the planning approval procedure.
Further information:
- In Lower Saxony, the LBEG is the approval authority for high-pressure gas pipelines and hydrogen pipelines in accordance with the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), including the associated compressor stations.
- The LBEG has compiled more information on planning approval procedures on the Internet at https://lbeg.info/?pgId=172&WilmaLogonActionBehavior=Default (opens in a new tab).