Second LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven delayed
Germany's first LNG terminal was a precision landing in terms of timing. The next one, which is currently under construction, is still a long way off.
View of the area where the second LNG terminal is being built in Wilhelmshaven, from where carbon dioxide will also be exported in future. The first terminal, which has been in operation since the end of 2022, can be seen in the background.
(Image: NPorts)
Completion of the second liquefied natural gas terminal in Wilhelmshaven has been delayed until 2025. It was originally scheduled to start this year. However, the date has already had to be postponed several times. According to recent media reports, there are problems with a power line that may now have to be re-routed. In addition, a jetty that is necessary for operation is not yet ready for use. The necessary permits for an interim solution are said to be missing.
Wilhelmshaven in north-western Germany is also home to Germany's first LNG terminal, which was opened at the end of 2022. This and the second terminal, which is still to be completed, are both to be operated by the federally owned Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH. DET was founded to secure Germany's supply of natural gas after Russian gas imports largely ceased. In addition to the sites in Wilhelmshaven, DET is also responsible for floating terminals in BrunsbĂĽttel and Stade.
Plans for COâ‚‚ export terminal
At the floating terminals, the regasification of the cryogenic liquefied natural gas, which is delivered by ship, is carried out by a special ship. In the case of the second terminal, this is the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) "Excelsior", which, according to the "Wilhelmshavener Zeitung", is waiting in El Ferrol in Spain ready for its transfer to Germany. The gas will then be transported ashore via pipelines and fed into the national gas grid from there. As the gas supply situation in Germany is relatively relaxed at the moment, there does not appear to be any major pressure to act.
The island jetty of the second LNG terminal will later become part of a hub for green energy. Its project planner, Tree Energy Solution (TES), has now announced that plans for an export terminal for liquid carbon dioxide are increasingly taking shape.
The plan is for COâ‚‚ captured from industrial plants to be shipped from Wilhelmshaven and stored in underground reservoirs in the North Sea off Norway, the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Videos by heise
Green energy from industrial COâ‚‚
There are also plans to export the carbon dioxide to countries with a surplus of renewable energy, such as desert countries with a high proportion of photovoltaics or windy countries with wind energy, in order to produce hydrogen from water using green energy in an electrolysis process. This hydrogen is then to be converted into methane (CH4) in further processing steps with the exported COâ‚‚. This "green" gas (e-NG) could then be transported to Germany to be converted back into hydrogen, which can be used by industry as a substitute for fossil fuels.
The carbon dioxide from industrial plants in Germany, eastern France, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic is to be transported to the North Sea by pipeline and rail. There is no current timetable for the realization of this ambitious project. Most recently, there was talk of the necessary universal jetty for liquefied gas being built from 2026.
(mki)
