Second Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal begins open season

Tree Energy Solutions (TES) GMBH is holding an open season to fast-track LNG imports into Europe through its planned Wilhelmshaven regasification terminal. The open season runs through May 25, 2022.

TES is planning for initial capacity to import as much as 16-20 billion cu m/year starting in 2025. The terminal will be connected by Open Grid Europe (OGE) GMBH’s 42-in. OD pipeline to the European natural gas grid. Terminal and pipeline capacity may be expanded through integration of further LNG tanks and commissioning of a second export pipeline, TES said.

The Wilhelmshaven terminal will include six ship berths and 1.6 million cu m of storage using eight onsite tanks, of which four will be available during the initial stage. In addition to the OGE connection, the terminal will offer direct access to salt cavern storage options at Etzel, Germany, and proximity to the grid currently delivering production from Groningen field, which is in the process of being retired.

To help decarbonize Germany and neighboring markets, from 2027-28 TES’s Wilhelmshaven regasification terminal will, as part of the Green Wilhelmshaven energy hub, increasingly be reserved for imports of fossil-free green gas such as hydrogen, according to the company. Green hydrogen produced by TES at Wilhelmshaven would be transported through connections with the H2Ercules project.

OGE is developing H2Ercules with RWE AG as a series of hydrogen production, storage, and import terminals in northern Germany to be connected with consumers in the west and south. The project plans for as much as 1 Gw of electrolyzer capacity and 1,500 km of pipeline.

TES will also build carbon export infrastructure as part of the Green Wilhelmshaven energy hub, connecting it to OGE’s CO₂ transportation network.

TES’s project is separate from Uniper SE’s LNG and hydrogen development, also in Wilhelmshaven (OGJ Online, Apr. 11, 2022).