LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven: Why not dispense with chlorine?

On December 17, 2022, Germany’s first LNG terminal will be inaugurated and will be officially opened in Wilhelmshaven – but with dire consequences for the environment. For weeks, NABU, BUND and Deutsche Umwelthilfe have been pointing out for weeks that the operation of the liquefied natural gas terminal will lead to the the North Sea with chlorine. Yet there is an environmentally friendly alternative for cleaning the seawater system based on ultrasound. The HASYTEC Group has been equipping ships with this system for years.

With the start of the floating LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven it is clear that in the future 180 million cubic meters of chlorinated water will be transported via the Jade into the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site. This is because Uniper, the operator of the terminal ship Hoegh Esperanza, uses chlorine to purify the seawater system. It is intended to prevent the pipes from becoming overgrown with mussels and barnacles.

“It can be done in an environmentally friendly way. Why not in Wilhelmshaven?”
Yet environmentally friendly alternatives exist to prevent fouling. For more than six years, the HASYTEC Group has been supplying an ultrasonic-based technology to prevent fouling and growth on all liquid-bearing surfaces. The technology is already used on more than 650 ships – including the TUI ships “Mein Schiff 3” and “Mein Schiff 6”.
The operator of the second LNG terminal ship in Wilhelmshaven, Tree Energy Solutions (TES), is interested in the technology.

“Our ultrasonic antifouling technology is applicable to all ships. Therefore, it is a mystery to me why it should not also be used on the Hoegh Esperanza. It can also be done in an environmentally friendly way, why not in Wilhelmshaven,” says Jan Kelling, Managing Director of the HASYTEC Group. All attempts by the company to contact Uniper were unsuccessful.

Last chance: the approval process
NABU, BUND and Deutsche Umwelthilfe are now seeking to have the that the permit to use the chlorine process be granted for a limited period only – and with the condition that alternatives be examined. Uniper, however, has applied for an unlimited permit for the Hoegh Esperanza. “According to our information, the Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation has received the Information on the technology of the HASYTEC Group is available. So far there has been no reaction,” Jan Kelling knows. Just like the environmental protection organizations, he hopes for the sake of the environment.