Pipeline will accelerate the further diversifying of gas sources

Salzgitter AG subsidiary Mannesmann Grossrohr GmbH (MGR) will supply the pipes for the link to the LNG gas terminal in Brunsbüttel. MGR has now been commissioned by Gasunie Deutschland 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 km. Some 3,200 pipes are to be delivered by February 2023 and have been specified so as to handle hydrogen in 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.

As Burkhard Becker, Salzgitter AG’s Chief Financial Officer and responsible for the Steel Processing Business Unit, states: “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. The Salzgitter Group is making an important contribution to building a powerful infrastructure – and this project is a most notable example.”

Putting the pipeline in place at short notice diversifies the sources of gas and is therefore of elementary importance in terms of energy policy. 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 m³, 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.