A long-awaited, more intensive exchange of information between Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH (DET) and Wilhelmshavener Hafenwirtschafts-Vereinigung e.V. (WHV e.V.) took place on August 7, 2024.

DET is the federally owned company for the operation of terminals through which liquefied natural gas (LNG) is landed by ship. WHV e.V. has supported the former Ruhrgas and Deutsche Flüssiggas Terminal Gesellschaft (DFTG) in their efforts to locate in the north of Wilhelmshaven from the very beginning and is interested in current developments and plans for the German gas supply via Wilhelmshaven.

“The exchange of ideas enables competent and authentic mutual information,” said John H. Niemann, President of WHV e.V.. He welcomed the guests Dirk P. Lindgens, Head of Communications at DET, and Dr. Andreas van Hooven, who is responsible for communications at DET in Wilhelmshaven.

The German government has solved the chicken-and-egg dilemma that is so problematic in many areas of the energy transition by establishing four LNG terminals on the North Sea coast in response to the particular emergency situation that has arisen in the gas supply sector following the loss of gas supplies by pipeline from Russia. It has taken over the development of the import infrastructure and founded DET for the construction, operation and marketing of the regasification capacities.

“As DET, we have the task of ensuring the security of gas supplies to Germany and Europe with the help of our floating LNG terminals,” explains Lindgens. “Sufficient infrastructure must be available for this - a key lesson from the past. Across all our terminals, we were already able to feed around 59 terawatt hours of energy into the German grid in 2023. This corresponds to the total annual consumption of natural gas of just under 18% of all household and commercial customers or 7% of total German consumption.”

The FSRU “Höegh Esperanza” has been regasifying LNG at its own terminal at the Voslapper Groden transshipment facility since December 2022 and feeding the gaseous natural gas into the German grid. The second LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven will go into operation this year when the FSRU “Excelsior” from shipping company Excelerate Energy lands. It is now equipped for use. The particularly high fouling pressure for the cooling, heating and ballast circuits in the Jade Current caused by mussels and barnacles, for example, is countered by ultrasonic sensors, which have been installed on an FSRU for regular operation for the first time in the world.

“Wilhelmshaven has thus gained a unique selling point worldwide in the field of maritime technology, research and development. The island jetty, which we are having built by our partners Tree Energy Solutions (TES) and Engie, is also unique - at least for Germany - with its undersea cable connection. Wilhelmshaven is thus gaining an important piece of maritime and energy industry infrastructure,” continued Lindgens.

As gas consumption varies seasonally, imported quantities are temporarily stored in storage facilities in summer, for example. If no more natural gas could be imported, the gas capacity of German storage facilities would last for around two months under normal consumption. In particularly harsh winters, the entire storage volume would be used up even faster. If gas is regularly fed into the grid via pipelines and terminals, the storage facilities have to compensate for fluctuations in consumption.
Allgemein wurde begrüßt, dass das Gespräch auf hohem fachlichem Niveau geführt werden konnte und die Expertise der WHV e.V. aus den Vor-Ort-Erfahrungen eingebracht werden kann. Beide Seiten begrüßten es, sich künftig regelmäßig auszutauschen und Ansprechpartner für besondere Fälle zu sein.