Germany wants more electricity, gas and hydrogen from Belgium

Olaf Scholz and Alexander De Croo at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal

The Chancellor wants to increase gas volumes from the neighboring country.

(Photo: dpa)

Zeebrugge Germany and Belgium want to work more closely together for a climate-neutral energy supply. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo signed an agreement in Zeebrugge, according to which Belgium is to double its pipeline capacity to Germany.

The work on this is to begin this year and will contribute as soon as possible to broadening Germany’s gas supply. Germany obtains a large part of its gas requirements via Zeebrugge in northern Belgium. The liquid gas that arrives there is regasified and fed into the natural gas network. Since the start of the Ukraine war, the lines have been busy at many times.

A lot is being done to expand the liquid gas terminals, said Scholz. “But we also have to guarantee the connection between our countries.” He had promised that the German lines would also be expanded. This means that the Belgians can sell the gas not only to German customers, but also to Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other Eastern European countries. “We have a joint responsibility that goes beyond our two countries,” explained Scholz.

In the current and coming years, Germany will be dependent on filling its storage facilities as quickly as possible. In the first half of 2022 Russian gas was still flowing into the German storage facilities in significant quantities. In the meantime, the direct connection to Nord Stream has been destroyed, and only small quantities come via third countries.

It is not certain that Germany will survive the coming winter as easily as it has this winter. Scientists urge us to continue to use gas very sparingly.

The new lines now planned are to transport hydrogen in the future, which is also to be landed in Zeebrugge. Both countries want to connect their hydrogen networks by 2028.

Power grids are connected

Scholz and De Croo also agreed on a second interconnector that will connect the power grids of Germany and Belgium. On the German side, this network is operated by Amprion, on the Belgian side by Elia, which also has a stake in the German network operator 50Hertz.

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The aim is to use the electricity from the wind farms in the North Sea as effectively as possible. The more wind farms are connected to each other over greater distances, the more often they can cover the electricity demand together. “The bigger the market, the cheaper it is for all of us,” said Scholz. Belgium and Germany, together with Denmark and the Netherlands, have the goal of generating four times as much wind power in the North Sea by 2030 as before.

The future of the European economies depend on an improved power supply, said Scholz. It should never be underestimated what the task is for industry to become climate neutral by 2045. It is primarily private sector investments in the steel, chemical and cement sectors that are necessary for this. De Croo said EU countries are under significant pressure to keep the industry in Europe.

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By 2030, the federal government aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 65 percent compared to 1990. The remaining emissions are then to be eliminated by 2045. “We know how big this task is and are determined to get it done,” said Scholz. The EU has set a target of 55 percent for 2030 and wants to be climate-neutral by 2050.

More: Next winter will be a stress test for the gas supply

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