Construction of Germany's First Land-based LNG Terminal Starts

The construction of Germany's first land-based liquefied national gas (LNG) terminal at the inland port of Stade kicked off on Friday with the goal of starting operation in 2027, said the project firm Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH).

The project on the river Elbe is part of Germany's broader efforts to diversify its energy sources after a sudden drop of Russian gas imports following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The terminal will include two LNG tanks with capacity of 240,000 cubic metres each and will be ammonia-ready as Germany and its neighbours aim to replace gas with green hydrogen and its derivatives in the future to cut carbon-dioxide emissions.

"After six years of planning and permitting, the construction phase now begins," HEH Chief Executive Jan Themlitz said in a statement.

Czech utility CEZ, Germany's utility EnBW and importer SEFE have committed themselves as buyers of 90% Stade's annual volume capacity of 13.3 billion cubic metres.

HEH said all customers have the option to switch their contracts to hydrogen-based energy sources, such as ammonia, in the future.

Spanish gas grid operator Enagas will assume the terminal's operational responsibility, HEH added.

A first floating regasification vessel (FSRU) arrived at Stade for test operations in March, which along with three others working at Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbuettel and Lubmin will be used for the regasification of LNG imports up until 2027.

(Reuters - Reporting by Riham Alkousaa)