Environmental Group Criticizes New LNG Terminal in Stade

Berlin – The environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has strongly criticized the state-owned company Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH's announcement to commission another liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal ship in Stade starting September 2026. DUH asserts that the venture is unnecessary and represents a step backward in energy policy.

DUH Federal Managing Director Sascha Müller-Kraenner stated that an additional LNG terminal is the last thing Germany needs from an energy policy standpoint. He argued that the federal government's strategy of securing energy supply through LNG deliveries has failed, leading instead to one-sided supply relationships, with over 90 percent of imports last year coming from the US. This, he contends, makes Germany vulnerable to blackmail. He also cited the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as factors increasing supply risks and costs.

The environmental group emphasized that a further LNG terminal in Stade points in completely the wrong direction regarding energy policy, especially given that existing terminals have operated at only moderate capacity. DUH is calling on the federal government to abandon these cost-driving and risky plans and to reject the Stade floating terminal.

Initially planned for commissioning in 2023, the Stade terminal's operational start has been repeatedly delayed. The vessel, named "Energos Force," is now slated to begin operations this autumn, three years behind schedule.