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LNG tankers are soon to dock directly in Germany:
the planning for corresponding terminals for the Brunsbüttel, Wilhelmshaven and Stade locations is in full swing
Photo: A9999 E.on-Ruhrgas/ dpa
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is seen as a possible stopgap should Russia stop supplying gas to Europe.
The liquefied natural gas offers the advantage that it can be transported via freighters.
This means that it can be purchased from countries to which there is no direct pipeline - for example from the USA or Qatar.
Germany is relying on LNG imports in the short term in order to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas and not become a plaything for the warmonger Putin.
The federal government has now provided 1.5 billion euros for the purchase of liquefied natural gas.
The aim is to increase security of supply and make Germany less dependent on the most important gas supplier, Russia.
The purchase of gas is to be implemented via Trading Hub Europe (THE), a subsidiary of the gas network operator in Germany.
The THE writes out quantities that then have to be delivered quickly and stored.
Since the deliveries are to arrive in Germany "at short notice", the liquefied natural gas has to be imported via nearby terminals abroad such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands and brought inland from there.
Because the infrastructure for a direct import of LNG to Germany is missing.
To date, there has not been a single LNG terminal in this country.
Such a terminal is necessary to handle LNG tankers and to convert the liquefied natural gas back to its gaseous state using a vaporization plant so that it can then be fed into high-pressure networks.
In order to be able to import LNG directly in the medium term, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced on Sunday in reaction to the Ukraine war that he would quickly build two LNG terminals in Germany.
He named Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven as locations.
The construction of a terminal in Stade is also being discussed.
But it may be years before the first tanker docks at a German terminal and is unloaded.
Brunsbüttel, Wilhelmshaven, Stade: why so little has happened so far
In Wilhelmshaven, the best-case scenario is two and a half to three years until the facility is commissioned.
Brunsbüttel and Stade last calculated with the year 2026.
LNG terminals have been planned for years.
The gas industry has long complained about inadequate framework conditions for investments.
So far, there has been a lack of political necessity and financial incentive.
Due to the good connections and the low LNG demand in Germany, the construction of LNG terminals in Germany has not been economical so far, according to Kerstin Andreae, head of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).
Former US President Trump increased the pressure on the federal government during his term in office and described Germany as a "prisoner of Russia" in the hope of being able to sell its own LNG to the Federal Republic.
Trump referred to the US liquid gas obtained through fracking as "freedom gas".
But it was only when Russia attacked Ukraine that the Germans were persuaded to look west when it came to their energy supply.
There are currently 37 LNG terminals across Europe, 26 of which are in EU member states.
So far, Germany has obtained liquefied natural gas via terminals in Zeebrugge in Belgium, Dunkirk in France and Gate in the Netherlands.
So what about the construction of the LNG terminals in Germany?
What is holding back the plans?
And why has progress stalled in recent years?
An overview of the individual projects.
No investment decision for Brunsbüttel yet
The plant in Brunsbüttel on the Elbe in Schleswig-Holstein has been in the planning for years.
The project plans are dragging on because there is still no date for a final investment decision around four years after the project was presented, as the project sponsor announced.
It is a very complex, costly and long-term investment.
One of the main investors, the Dutch port logistics company Vopak, announced in autumn 2021 that it would end its active participation in the project company.
However, he continued his financial involvement.
Together with the Dutch state gas supplier Gasunie and the Hamburg tank storage logistics company Oiltanking GmbH, Vopak founded the project company German LNG in 2018 for the construction of an LNG terminal.
The application for the construction of a port and waterside facilities was submitted at the end of June 2021.
According to the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Economic Affairs in Kiel, the required approval could come in autumn 2023 at the earliest.
With a construction period of around three years, the terminal could go into operation at the end of 2026
, provided that there are no delays due to lawsuits from environmental groups.
According to earlier information from the project sponsor German LNG Terminal GmbH, the terminal in Brunsbüttel will have a capacity of around eight billion cubic meters of natural gas and, at around 450 million euros, will be one of the most important industrial settlements in the north.
The deep-freeze gas was originally intended as an alternative fuel for cruise ships, inland waterway vessels and container ships, and as an industrial gas for chemical plants in the region.
But now the demand could increase significantly in the medium term.
Uniper could resume rejected plans for Wilhelmshaven
The energy company Uniper had actually already buried its plans to build an LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven due to a lack of demand for LNG.
There was too little concrete interest from partners in reserving capacities there for imports of the raw material, as Uniper announced at the end of 2020.
But now the Düsseldorf-based energy company is examining the possibility of resuming its planning.
A lot of preparatory work for a floating terminal has already been undertaken.
However, a decision has not yet been made, the company said on Monday.
Instead of a terminal for liquefied natural gas, Uniper recently planned an import terminal for hydrogen in Wilhelmshaven.
There, the energy company shut down the Wilhelmshaven coal-fired power plant at the end of last year.
The infrastructural conditions are good, says the mayor of the city of Wilhelmshaven, Carsten Feist (independent). Wilhelmshaven is the only German deep-water port, has good hinterland connections by road, rail and water and storage caverns.
The location has "excellent logistical conditions", confirmed Uniper.
The city of Wilhelmshaven wants to get into project management immediately after Scholz's announcement.
"We're in a good position because we're not starting from scratch," said Feist.
The question now is whether the federal government wants to create the infrastructure itself or whether the private sector should do it.
Even if everything went very well, from Feist's point of view, commissioning would probably not be possible for two and a half to three years at the earliest.
In addition to Uniper, another company recently offered to set up a terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Wilhelmshaven.
The Belgian company Tree Energy Solutions (TES) announced on Wednesday that it would accelerate its "Green Energy Hub" project.
The company is targeting large-scale operations by 2025.
According to TES, the project in Wilhelmshaven has been running since 2019. The main goal was actually the import of green hydrogen.
According to TES, it should also be possible to take LNG on a transitional basis.
Documents for the project in Stade should be submitted quickly
Also on the Elbe is a planned terminal in Stade, Lower Saxony.
The liquid gas terminal is to be built on the premises of the chemical company Dow Chemical.
The project sponsor Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH) plans to submit the documents for the terminal at the end of March and those for the port facility at the end of April.
It was originally planned for this summer.
In the best-case scenario, the approval process could take one to one and a half years, estimates managing partner Johann Killinger.
If everything goes smoothly, the commissioning would be in 2026.
HEH only signed letters of intent for the planned LNG import terminal in August 2020.
The project is worth around one billion euros.
The shareholders of HEH are the Belgian gas infrastructure operator Fluxys, the Swiss asset management company Partners Group and the Hamburg logistics group Buss Group.
In the final stage, up to 12 billion cubic meters of gas per year are to be fed into the German grid.
HEH is targeting around ten percent of annual German gas consumption as discharge volume from Stade.
with news agencies