Construction of the first LNG land terminal begins in Germany

2024-06-29 12:12:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Construction of the first LNG land terminal begins in Germany

Illustrative photo

Germany's first onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal is being built since Friday in Stade (Lower Saxony). Environmental and climate advocates criticize this project.

The official start of work was marked on Friday (28.06.) with a first symbolic opening. The Hanseatic Energy Hub consortium, based in Hamburg, is responsible for the project in Stade. According to the latter, the construction is expected to cost around one billion euros. The terminal will be able to import LNG, synthetic natural gas and liquid biomethane from 2027.

The terminal in Stade will also import ammonia

The land-based LNG terminal will be built by the Spanish company Técnicas Reunidas and its partners. The operation will be carried out by the Spanish network operator Enagás. According to the company's data, the total capacity of the facility is 13.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. LNG operation is approved until the end of 2043. Ammonia should come later, "as a CO2-neutral and hydrogen-based energy source".

A floating terminal will import liquefied natural gas until the commissioning of this land terminal. The special ship "Energos Force", engaged by the federal government, arrived in mid-March. The terminal operator plans to finish the first LNG tanker during the second half of this year

The Association for the Protection of the Environment sees violations of the climate objectives

LNG raw material is considered problematic, in terms of climate policy, due to the CO2 load through transport and combustion. Critics further point out that increased imports are fueling the controversial US LNG and fracking industry. The German Federation for the Protection of the Environment and Nature (BUND), supported by the association German Environmental Aid (DUH), filed a lawsuit last March against the LNG terminal. The construction would be in violation of the climate law passed by the state parliament, which stipulates greenhouse gas neutrality for Lower Saxony by 2040. The Czech Republic provides capacity at the LNG terminal.

"I am very happy that it is being shown, especially in the field of energy supply, that Germany can already move quickly, we just have to do it," said Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD). Jozef Síkela, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, also attended the groundbreaking ceremony in Stade. The Czech Republic had secured capacity at the future Stade LNG terminal. Partly state-owned energy group CEZ has agreed with the government on an annual use of two billion cubic meters. This corresponds to more than a quarter of the current annual consumption in the Czech Republic. In this way, the energy security of the Czech Republic, which in the past depended almost entirely on Russian gas, is guaranteed, it was announced.

Two more land terminals are also planned

In addition to Stades, land terminals are also planned in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel (land Schleswig-Holstein). Construction in Wilhelmshaven is expected to start in 2026. The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs estimates that the terminal will be operational in mid-2028. For the construction in Brunsbüttel, preparatory measures such as earthworks have started since March. The device is expected to be put into regular service at the beginning of 2027./ DW