German LNG import capacity to hit 70.7mn t/yr by 2030

Germany plans to build 70.7mn t/yr of peak LNG import capacity by 2030, German economic ministry BMWK documents and planning applications by German energy firm RWE show.

Germany is set to be the fourth-largest LNG import capacity in the world by the end of this decade, behind South Korea, China and Japan.

To rapidly add LNG import capacity, Germany is turning to floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) to add import capacity in the near term, some of which will be replaced by onshore terminals that are set to come on line in the second half of this decade.

A total of 10 FSRUs are planned to be utilised in Germany. Two are planned for Wilhelmshaven, one for Brunsbuttel, one for Stade and six in Lubmin, which could become the largest LNG import cluster in Europe. Some FSRUs will be taken off line once the onshore terminals at Stade, Brunsbuttel and Wilhelmshaven are built (see maximum output table).

FSRU additions in 2023

Two terminals are already on line — the 5.8mn t/yr Wilhelmshaven facility and Lubmin's 3.5mn t/yr Deutsche Ostsee LNG — with the 3.1mn t/yr Elbehafen LNG terminal in Brunsbuttel set to feed in first gas by the end of February.

Three more FSRUs are scheduled to come on line at state-operated terminals by the end of 2023. Wilhelmshaven's second FSRU — the 138,000m³ Excelsior — is set to start operations in the autumn. Stade is expected to receive its FSRU by the end of this year, and Lubmin should receive its second between mid-October and mid-November. Stade and Lubmin will use the Dynagas-owned 174,000m³ Transgas Force and same-sized Transgas Power, although it is unclear which vessel will serve which terminal.

Auctions to allocate terminal capacity will be announced from the end of 2023, BMWK documents show. Capacity for Brunsbuttel and the first Wilhelmshaven FSRU will be made available from April 2024.

Private firm Deutsche Regas plans to add another FSRU by the end of 2023. This would boost Germany's LNG import capacity to 34.9mn t/yr by the end of 2023, including the increased capacity coming from a new pipeline at Brunsbuttel. This capacity is set to more than double by the end of this decade.

Bnetza defends LNG plans

Klaus Muller — president of German energy regulator Bnetza — has defended Germany's LNG expansion, which has been criticised as oversized by German environmental group DUH.

In an interview on 19 February, Muller said security of supply is important, as the market should not get used to mild winters. He also said that "we must think of our neighbouring countries" that are landlocked and therefore cannot build domestic LNG import capacity, such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. This could enable Germany to serve as an LNG import hub for central Europe, with neighbouring countries booking import capacity at German LNG terminals.

By Martin Senior