Wintershall Dea and HES join forces for CO2 hub in Wilhelmshaven

German natural gas and oil company Wintershall Dea and compatriot liquid bulk terminal HES Wilhelmshaven Tank Terminal have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a CO2 hub at Germany’s single deepest draft port.

The companies plan to develop a hub named CO2nnectNow at HES Wilhelmshaven Tank Terminal, which will store CO2 captured from German industrial sites.

As explained, the CO2 will first be shipped from the CO2nnectNow hub. Later, it will be transported via pipeline from Germany’s only deep-water port to geological formations in the Norwegian and Danish North Sea to be permanently and safely stored.

The process is expected to be key to decarbonising the hard-to-abate industries in Germany.

HES Wilhelmshaven Tank Terminal was selected as the home for the planned CO2 hub due to its strategic location, deep draft quay, and extensive industrial and rail infrastructure.

A study has been launched to determine the feasibility of the project, with its results expected to be received in 2023, the partners said.

Furthermore, the CO2nnectNow hub is expected to capture and collect the CO2 generated by BlueHyNow – Wintershall Dea’s planned project to produce large quantities of hydrogen from natural gas in Wilhelmshaven.

The oil and gas company cited studies which confirm that CCS will be a key technology in enabling Germany to reduce its emissions from industry and agriculture and presented plans to decrease emissions by applying CCS and low-carbon hydrogen technologies, potentially building up a business abating 20 to 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2040.

CO2nnectNow is planned to become a crucial building block for achieving these goals if from 2028 onwards more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 are gradually exported annually from Wilhelmshaven to safe offshore deposits, Wintershall Dea said.

“Only with CCS, Germany can achieve its climate targets. The North Sea, especially Norway and Denmark, offers enormous potential and Wilhelmshaven is perfectly located in Northern Germany. We are delighted to have found an experienced and locally rooted partner in HES to mature our CO2nnectNow project”, commented Klaus Langemann, Senior Vice President of Carbon Management & Hydrogen at Wintershall Dea.

The company recently announced a partnership with Equinor aiming to connect Germany and Norway via a 900-kilometre CO2 pipeline. The pipeline is estimated to have an annual capacity of up to 40 million tonnes by 2032 and will enable the safe transportation of CO2 from the German coast to the Norwegian North Sea.