German energy firm EnBW aims to book capacity at Hanseatic Energy Hub’s planned Stade LNG import terminal in Germany, as part of a new deal revealed on Thursday.
In that regard, EnBW said in a statement it has signed a memorandum of understanding with HEH.
In a first step, EnBW intends to purchase at least three billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum via the LNG terminal in Stade and is also holding talks on further forms of cooperation, it said.
Germany’s HEH has this week received approval from the local government for the planned facility, as the country looks to speed up plans to replace part of Russian gas supplies with LNG.
Current HEH partners include Germany’s Buss Group, Switzerland’s Partners Group, and Belgium’s Fluxys.
HEH recently invited international market participants to express their interest in booking long-term capacity in the LNG import facility from 2026.
The firm also said it would submit the permit documents for the terminal and port before Easter.
With its planned regasification capacity of 12 bcm per year, the LNG terminal in Stade would be able to cover about ten percent of Germany’s gas demand, according to HEH.
Located on the Elbe river within the Dow industrial park, the hub would initially handle LNG and low-carbon energy carriers such as bio-LNG and synthetic methane.
The concept also includes a truck loading facility and a jetty for bunkering vessels.
As global supply grows, it would later also be available for the import of “climate-neutral” energy sources such as ammonia, HEH previously said.
Diversifying supplies
Germany currently has no large LNG import terminals but there are several facilities on the table including proposals from German LNG Terminal and Uniper, which received backing by the government.
Uniper and RWE are also finalizing talks to secure three floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) for Germany.
With this move to book capacity at the Stade facility, EnBW is “sending a further signal in its consistent efforts to diversify its procurement portfolio,” the company said in the statement.
As one of the major German energy firms with more than 5.5 million customers, the company plans to “significantly” increase the share of LNG in its portfolio.
“We have expanded our LNG activities step by step in recent years,” Georg Stamatelopoulos, EnBW’s board member, said.
“That’s because liquefied natural gas plays a key role in the diversification of our fuels for energy generation: It opens up the possibility of new sources to secure Germany’s gas supply in the transitional period of the new energy concept and builds a bridge to a green energy supply,” he said.
He said that is why the company specifically chose Stade as its import terminal.
“Technically, commercially and in terms of approval processes, the project is at a high stage of maturity. The zero-emissions concept and the short connection distance to the German gas transmission grid are also particularly relevant from our perspective,” Stamatelopoulos said.
Johann Killinger, managing partner of HEH, said the LNG terminal in Stade would “play a major part in diversifying Germany’s energy supply.”
“In EnBW, we not only have a strong anchor client from the start, but also another experienced partner who really understands both the global and local energy markets,” he said.