Germany's DET commissions new LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven

German state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) commissioned its third floating import terminal for LNG in a ceremony in Wilhelmshaven on Monday, May 26.

The Wilhelmshaven 02 LNG terminal is an island jetty built approximately 1.5 kilometres from the mainland in what DET said are some of the strongest currents in Europe.

In addition, data, electricity and ultimately the natural gas pipelines are laid in the seabed for ecological reasons and connected to a head station on land.

Excelsior, the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) deployed at the terminal, is meanwhile being used by DET to test an ultrasound-based method to combat fouling pressure in the seawater pipeline system of an FSRU. The method is designed to prevent barnacles and mussels from clogging the pipes of the required water circuit.

DET expects that in 2025, Excelsior will feed up to 1.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas into the German gas grid. This corresponds to the annual natural gas consumption for heating 1.5 million four-person households in multi-family homes.

In the two subsequent years, Excelsior's regasification and grid feed-in capacity will then reach up to 4.6 billion cubic metres each, equivalent to the annual heating energy required by up to 3.7 million four-person households.