Mannesmann Grossrohr (MGR), a unit of German steel producer Salzgitter, will supply the pipes for the link to the Brunsbüttel LNG terminal.

Gasunie looks to deploy FSRU at Lubmin port in Germany Deutschland commissioned MGR to produce and deliver the pipes for the energy transport pipeline 180 (ETL 180).

Featuring a diameter of DN 800, the pipeline covers a distance of around 54 kilometres. Some 3,200 pipes are to be delivered by February 2023. In addition, they will be able to handle hydrogen in the future.

As MGR is already producing the pipes for the connecting pipeline to the Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal, it has now also been assigned with supplying the pipes for the link to the Brunsbüttel LNG terminal.

Burkhard Becker, Salzgitter AG’sCEO, said: “The secure sourcing of gas is an essential precondition for society and the economy to function smoothly. Consequently, the planned LNG terminal and the pipelines are of crucial significance for Germany’s future energy supply, especially now.”

Commissioning has been scheduled by the end of 2023 to enable the pipeline to transport the volumes produced by the floating LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel to areas of high demand. With an annual regasification capacity of 7.5 to 10 billion cbm, the pipeline provides an alternative for sourcing natural gas from regions that have so far not had gas pipelines linking them up to the German market.

The terminal will have two LNG tanks with a capacity of 165,000 cbm each and an LNG regasification plant. The plans foresee an annual throughput capacity of eight billion cubic metres (natural gas). It will specifically feature a jetty with two berths for LNG carriers (up to size QMax) and smaller LNG ships. Also, it will have facilities for unloading and loading the ships.

In early March, the German state-owned bank KfW, Gasunie, and RWE signed an MoU on the joint promotion of the construction and operation of the terminal.

In addition to the terminals already under construction in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel, other LNG import terminals are currently under consideration in northern Germany, for example at the Stade, Hamburg, and Lubmin sites.