German energy supply company, Uniper and TES, a green energy company, are to co-operate with Niedersachsen Ports (NPorts), the largest operator of public seaports in Germany.
On the sidelines of the opening ceremony for the first German LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven last month, the three companies signed an agreement for a new large joint import terminal with up to six berths.
In parallel, Uniper will conduct technical studies to enable it to import around 2.6 mill tonnes of green ammonia per year.
This capacity, plus the 1 GW electrolysis plant for hydrogen production planned as part of the Uniper Green Wilhelmshaven project could supply around 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen, equivalent to 10-20% of the demand expected for 2030 throughout Germany.
TES plans to take FID in 2023, with the goal of starting the first phase of Europe’s largest import terminal in 2026. The terminal is expected to have a capacity of 20 million tonnes of LNG and eNG.
The company aims to begin importing the first eNG by the end of 2025 or early 2026, and to increase capacity to 5 mill tonnes by 2030.
Large investment
This new jetty in front of the Voslapper Groden will probably require investment funds of around €500 mill. The financing still has to be clarified, the companies said. It will make Wilhelmshaven the largest energy hub in Germany and will supply green energy as hydrogen for Germany in the future.
Olaf Lies, Minister for Economics, Labour and Transport of Lower Saxony, said: “Lower Saxony is an energy hub for and will remain so in the future. Starting as early as 2026, we will develop the site of Wilhelmshaven as one of the central gates for green and clean energy for Germany.
“Only with additional terminals will we be able to continue to guarantee Germany's energy supply security. So, with this project, TES and Uniper are making a significant contribution to Germany's energy transition.
“We want to maintain the pace presented by Uniper, OGE and our approval authorities at the first LNG terminal for further projects – that is what we call the ‘Neue Deutschlandgeschwindigkeit’,” he said.
Christian Meyer, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Environment, added: “I am very pleased that TES, Uniper and NPorts are planning and building a new jetty for the landing of regeneratively generated ‘green gases’. This investment makes Wilhelmshaven the most important hub for climate-neutral gases in Germany. Now it's time to take the momentum from the construction of the pier at the UVG bridge for the (FSRU) ‘Esperanza’ project to achieve climate neutrality as quickly as possible.
“Because we cannot and do not want to make any compromises when it comes to climate protection, we have no more time to lose.” he warned.
Dr Holger Kreetz, Uniper’s COO Asset Management, commented: "We at Uniper will expand our leading role in the import of energy sources with our (patented) Green Wilhelmshaven lighthouse project and take a major step towards the de-carbonisation of our gas business.
“After the successful construction of the LNG terminal in record time, we at Uniper are now fully dedicated to the construction of the import terminal for green ammonia and the construction of the gigawatt of electrolysis to supply our customers with green hydrogen," he said.
Marco Alverà, TES CEO, also commented: " We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Uniper and NPorts to speed up the development of our Green Energy Hub. By converting sun and wind into sustainable eNG (electric natural gas) through the combination of green hydrogen and circular CO2, and utilising existing infrastructure, we will be able to deliver green, secure energy to leading European industrial companies.
“This will not only assist these companies in their transition to green energies, but also allow them to maintain competitiveness while significantly reducing carbon emissions," he said.
