On March 11, after a construction period of almost one year, the Energy Transmission Line (ETL) 180, which connects the LNG terminal site at the Elbe port in Brunsbüttel with Gasunie's existing pipeline network in the Hamburg area, was officially commissioned. Tobias Goldschmidt, Energy Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, together with Britta van Boven, Managing Director of Gasunie Deutschland, laid the keystone for an important pipeline project that will make a major contribution to the security of energy supply in Germany and Europe. The pipeline is already H2-ready, i.e. suitable for the transportation of hydrogen, and will play a central role in the future development of Schleswig-Holstein's energy industry towards climate neutrality.
Tobias Goldschmidt, Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, said on March 11: "Today's commissioning of ETL 180 is good news for Germany's and Europe's energy security. This pipeline will not only secure our current gas supply, but is also a decisive step towards climate neutrality, as it is already suitable for transporting hydrogen. For the time being, it will secure our supply of natural gas and in the future it will be the backbone of our supply of gaseous renewable energies."
Britta van Boven, Managing Director of Gasunie Germany, added: "We built in record time - even though the conditions were anything but easy. Challenging ground conditions and adverse weather, in particular the much too wet fall and winter, demanded a lot from us. But the energy crisis is not over yet and only the integration of new sources of supply will create security of supply. In this respect, I am proud that Gasunie has managed to achieve the target set for us by politicians within the planned challenging timeframe. I would like to thank all parties involved, especially the authorities of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the districts and municipalities as well as the farmers who have made their land available to us.
With ETL 180, Gasunie is making its contribution to the diversification of the German energy supply by making the pipeline largely independent of individual gas supply countries. Last year, Gasunie, together with SH-Netz, had already ensured the feed-in of the gas volumes landed via the floating LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel. The newly constructed pipeline is designed to transport over 100 TWh of gas per year. This corresponds to around 20 % of the current gas imports from Russia and the annual consumption of around 4.5 million households.
The approximately 55 km long pipeline was approved on March 23, 2023. A total of 3,220 DN 800 pipeline pipes were laid, with each pipe being 18 m long and weighing 5 tons. The pipes are made of approx. 12-18 mm thick special steel and are protected against corrosion with plastic insulation. The pipes and other components of the pipeline are designed to be able to transport hydrogen and its derivatives ("H2-ready") in the future. Preparatory construction measures for the pipeline, which fell under the LNG Acceleration Act, were already approved and started in November 2022.
For Gasunie project manager Arndt Heilmann, the rapid implementation of the project was only possible thanks to the smooth cooperation of all the trades involved. "At peak times, up to 800 people from 18 nations worked on the route. It is a great result that we have brought the project to commissioning without any serious accidents to date. This is not a matter of course for a project of this size and given the external conditions. We have achieved this through intensive safety work and, in particular, the safety awareness of all employees of the companies involved in the construction. There is still some work to be done in the surrounding area in the coming months. Dr. Heilmann gives the outlook here: "Next up is the challenging recultivation work. We will restore all the areas we have used so that they can be fully used for agriculture again in the future. We would like to express our thanks for the understanding shown to all those affected in the vicinity of the construction sites, who have experienced some restrictions in the use of their land and in daily road traffic as a result of the construction work."
The implementation of the project was further complicated by damage caused by third-party intervention. During commissioning, several leaks were detected during the pressure test of the ETL 180 under construction in the Pinneberg area at the end of November 2023. Gasunie immediately informed the police authorities and all relevant stakeholders at state and federal level about the incidents. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has now taken over the investigation. The damaged areas were repaired and the pipeline underwent another complete inspection before being put into operation, which was successfully completed.
