Milestone: Ultranet power line fully approved
Year of issue 2025
Date of issue 2025.10.31
The Bundesnetzagentur has today completed the planning approval procedure for the last of seven sections of the Ultranet power line. The approval means that the exact route of the overhead direct-current line that runs between Osterath in North Rhine-Westphalia and Philippsburg in Baden-Württemberg has now been decided.
“The completion of the approval procedures for the major electricity highways is further proof of the progress we are making in expanding the electricity networks in Germany and thus of the key contribution we are making to the success of the energy transition
,” said Klaus Müller, President of the Bundesnetzagentur.
Section from Koblenz to Marxheim
The section now approved, which is about 78 kilometres long, starts at the grid connection point in Koblenz. The route crosses the River Rhine between Koblenz and Urbar and then runs southeast through the Taunus region towards Frankfurt. The section ends at the Marxheim grid connection point near Hofheim.
The project involves upgrading and converting existing overhead lines. It therefore requires considerably less construction work than for completely new lines.
The Bundesnetzagentur is due to publish its planning approval decision (in German) on 10 November 2025 www.netzausbau.de/vorhaben2-d1.
Ultranet power line as a major axis for the energy transition
The high-voltage direct-current power line will transport electricity over around 342 kilometres from North Rhine-Westphalia to Baden-Württemberg. The line is due to be operational at the end of 2026. Existing masts will be used and upgraded along some of the route. Work has already started in the sections previously approved. The line has a transmission capacity of two gigawatts and a voltage of 380 kilovolts. The German transmission system operators Amprion and TransnetBW are responsible for planning, establishing and operating the Ultranet line.
The Ultranet line and Amprion’s A-Nord power line, which connects Emden with Osterath, together form “Corridor A”. This will then transport electricity from Emden to Philippsburg. The Bundesnetzagentur approved A-Nord as an underground line and Ultranet as an overhead line. The two lines will be connected to each other at the converter in Osterath. Corridor A is expected to be operational as a whole in 2027.
The Bundesnetzagentur regularly updates the forecast on progress in electricity grid expansion and publishes the updates (in German) at www.netzausbau.de/prognose.
