- Niedersachsen Ports, Uniper and TES have commissioned a study for a new jetty for the onshore energy import terminals operated by TES and Uniper.
- The agreement demonstrates the determination of the German government and the state of Lower Saxony to accelerate their plans for immediate energy security in Europe while paving the way for sustainable green energy imports.
Uniper, a leading German energy company, pioneer in green gas and Germany's largest gas supplier with over 1,000 customers, and TES, a global company that uses green eNG to help Europe's industrial companies transition to net zero, are pleased to announce their collaboration with Niedersachsen Ports (NPorts), the largest operator of public seaports in Germany and a company of the State of Lower Saxony.
On the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Germany's first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven, the three companies signed an agreement in the presence of Economics Minister Olaf Lies and Environment Minister Christian Meyer. It provides for the planning of a new large joint port infrastructure with at least 6 berths for TES and for Uniper. In parallel, Uniper will carry out technical studies to enable Uniper to import around 2.6 million tonnes of green ammonia per year. With this capacity and the 1 GW electrolysis plant for hydrogen production planned as part of the Uniper Green Wilhelmshaven project, around 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen could be supplied, which corresponds to 10-20% of the demand expected for 2030 throughout Germany. TES plans to commission the port facilities as early as 2023, with the aim of completing the first expansion stage of the largest import terminal in Europe from 2026. The terminal is expected to have a capacity of up to 20 million tonnes of LNG and eNG. TES plans to start importing the first eNG at the turn of 2025/2026 and increase deliveries to 5 million tonnes by 2030.
This new jetty off Voslapper Groden is expected to require investment funds of around 500 million euros, the financing of which has yet to be clarified. With this investment in the necessary infrastructure for a CO2-free hydrogen economy and the planned import projects for green and decarbonised gases, Wilhelmshaven will become Germany's largest energy hub and supply green energy in the form of hydrogen for Germany as a business location in the future.
This will accelerate the development of a green import infrastructure that will enable a shift away from the import of fossil fuels.
Olaf Lies, Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Building and Digitalisation: "Lower Saxony is already an Energy Hub and will continue to be so in the future. As early as 2026, we will develop the Wilhelmshaven site into one of the central gateways for green and clean energy for Germany. For this, we need additional terminals. Only with them will we be able to guarantee Germany's energy supply. This project is a strong contribution to Germany's energy transition. With this project, too, we want to maintain the speed at which we completed the first LNG terminal here together with Uniper, OGE and our approval authorities - that is what we call the 'New Germany Speed'.
Christian Meyer, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection: "I very much welcome the fact that TES, Uniper and NPorts will jointly plan and build a new jetty for the landing of regeneratively produced 'green gases'. This jetty will make Wilhelmshaven the most important hub for climate-neutral gases in Germany. Now we need to take the momentum from the construction of the jetty at the UVG Bridge to the "Esperanza" project in order to achieve climate neutrality as quickly as possible. Because we can't and don't want to make any concessions when it comes to climate protection, we have no more time to lose."
Dr Holger Kreetz, COO Asset Management Uniper: "At Uniper, we will expand our leading role in the import of energy sources with our lighthouse project Green Wilhelmshaven® and take a major step towards decarbonising our gas business. After the successful construction of the LNG terminal in record time, we at Uniper are now fully dedicated to the construction of the green ammonia import terminal and the construction of the gigawatt electrolysis plant to supply our customers with green hydrogen."
Marco Alverà, CEO of TES, said, " We are looking forward to working with our partners Uniper and NPorts on the development of the Green Energy Hub in Wilhelmshaven. This will allow us to accelerate the construction of key infrastructure that will pave the way for the energy transition. We are creating future-proof infrastructure that will function for decades and provide Germany with access to a cost-effective supply of sustainable energy."
About Niedersachsen Ports
Niedersachsen Ports owns and operates five seaports, seven island supply ports and three regional ports on the German North Sea coast. The company is based in Oldenburg. With offices in Brake, Cuxhaven with a branch office in Stade, Emden and Wilhelmshaven, Niedersachsen Ports manages the port infrastructure in the major seaports of Lower Saxony. The ports on the North Sea coast are particularly important for the energy transition. Niedersachsen Ports is pursuing the strategy of developing the locations as hubs for sustainable energy production.
About Uniper
Uniper is an international energy company headquartered in Düsseldorf with operations in more than 40 countries. With around 7,000 employees, the company makes an important contribution to security of supply in Europe. Uniper's core activities include power generation in Europe, global energy trading and a broad gas portfolio. Uniper procures gas - also as liquefied natural gas (LNG) - and other energy sources on the world markets. The company owns and operates gas storage facilities with a capacity of more than 7 billion cubic metres. Uniper plans to operate its approximately 22.5 GW of installed power generation capacity in Europe in a CO2-neutral manner by 2035. The company is already one of the largest operators of hydroelectric power plants in Europe and plans to further expand solar and wind energy as the key to a more sustainable and independent future.
Uniper is a reliable partner for municipalities, public utilities and industrial companies in planning and implementing innovative, CO2-reducing solutions on the way to decarbonising their activities. As a hydrogen pioneer, Uniper is active worldwide along the entire value chain and implements projects to make hydrogen usable as a supporting pillar of energy supply.
About TES
Tree Energy Solutions (TES) is a green hydrogen company that delivers long-term, non-intermittent, carbon-neutral energy on demand on an industrial scale. TES aims to accelerate the energy transition by leveraging existing global energy infrastructure to deliver green hydrogen, green gas and green power to customers, while accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuels from the world's energy system and introducing a circular carbon economy. TES is currently developing energy supply sites and import terminals in Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United States to create an integrated network of significant global reach. Initial production and export terminal sites are being developed in Australia, the Middle East and North America.
