Zeelink

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The Zeelink is a pipeline under construction for the transport of natural gas in North Rhine-Westphalia. It begins on the German-Belgian border in Lichtenbusch and runs until after St. Hubert (Kempen) . From there the line extends to Legden near Ahaus. The name Zeelink results from the fact that the pipeline connects the Belgian natural gas network and thus also the liquefied natural gas terminal in Zeebrugge to the German network. With a route length of around 216 km, Zeelink is the largest single project in the Gas Network Development Plan (NEP) 2015. The pipeline is intended to secure the supply of natural gas in western Germany and ensure the gradual conversion from L to H gas.

Shareholder and operator

The Open Grid Europe GmbH from Essen and Thyssengas GmbH from Dortmund are the stakeholders of Zeelink. The proportions are 75 percent to 25 percent. The investment volume is 600 million euros.

Examination room

The new Zeelink building project is located in North Rhine-Westphalia. A total of 1500 kilometers of possible routes were examined. A first rough course of the line in the draft was sketched using a so-called route corridor with a width of 600 m between Lichtenbusch on the German-Belgian border and Legden in the western Münsterland. The planned route touches the compressor station in St. Hubert near Kempen. The project also includes the construction of a new compressor station in the Aachen area. Within a route corridor, the environmental and spatial compatibility of a line is examined together with the responsible authorities, public bodies, associations, citizens and those involved in Zeelink. The procedure ensures that all ecological and cultural aspects of the individual regions are taken into account. The exact course of the route is the subject of the planning approval procedure . The working strip specified there should have a width of 38 m. After completion, the gas pipeline should be laid with at least 1 m of earth covering.

Time schedule

In June 2015, Open Grid Europe GmbH submitted the scoping documents for the Zeelink pipeline, thus opening the application conference. The further schedule for the Zeelink project is structured as follows:

In the course of the project, information and dialogue events are to be offered to citizens.

Construction work started on April 1, 2019, with construction work largely from north to south. On October 16, the necessary Rhine crossing as a culvert was completed at Wallach (Rheinberg) and Ork (Voerde) .

  • Construction site of the Zeelink pipeline near Kaarst-Büttgen (autumn 2019)

  • Construction site (autumn 2019)

  • Pipe storage area

  • Construction site of the Zeelink pipeline near Kaarst-Büttgen (spring 2020)

  • Construction site of the Zeelink pipeline in the twilight forest near Erle (June 2020)

  • Assembly cranes laying the pipeline in the twilight forest (June 2020)

Changeover from L to H gas

Depending on the methane content , natural gas is divided into L gas (low calorific gas) and H gas (high calorific gas). The chemical composition of natural gas depends on the production source. L-gas comes from German and Dutch deposits and has a relatively low calorific value of between 8 and 10 kWh per cubic meter. H-gas comes from the North Sea and the CIS countries and has a higher calorific value between 10 and 12 kWh per cubic meter. The calorific value is a quality feature and shows how much power or energy there is in a standardized cubic meter of natural gas. Against the background of declining production capacities and seismic activity in the Netherlands, Gasunie Transport Services BV (GTS) has drawn up a plan to deal with the decline in production in the Groningen field , the largest gas field in Western Europe. This plan has an impact on the Dutch market as well as on L-gas importing countries such as Belgium, France and Germany. From 2020, export capacities from the Netherlands to Germany are to be throttled by 10 percent annually in order to meet the Dutch demand.

In Germany, the volume of L-gas will decrease by around 90 percent by 2030. Due to the dwindling volume, gas networks and appliances have to be adapted to H-gas. This affects households as well as commercial and industrial customers. The majority of households in today's L-gas areas can only be supplied with H-gas once the gas appliances have been technically adapted. It is necessary to gradually adapt networks and gas consumption devices in all affected households and in the commercial and industrial sector in order to ensure the supply of natural gas also in the areas that are currently still receiving L-gas. The order in which the individual L-gas network areas are adapted to H-gas is shown in the annually updated gas NEP for the first areas. The local gas network operator will inform you in good time when exactly districts, cities and municipalities will be converted. The adjustment from L to H gas requires imports from regions such as Norway, Great Britain and Russia.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Network Development Plan Gas 2014. (fnb-gas.de) Retrieved on February 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ Network Development Plan for Gas 2015 . Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  3. ^ Project gas pipeline is heading towards Wesel , rp-online.de. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ Natural gas pipeline planned through Erkelenz and Hückelhoven , rp-online.de. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ 300 million euros for natural gas pipeline ( Memento from February 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), wdr.de.
  6. ↑ Gigantic gas pipeline planned , derwesten.de. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ Start of the application conferences for Zeelink natural gas pipeline. Press release on zeelink.de, June 22, 2015. Accessed February 12, 2016.
  8. ↑ A new gas pipeline is planned through the Wesel district , radiokw.de. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ Start of construction of the ZEELINK gas pipeline. April 10, 2019, accessed on November 3, 2019 (German).
  10. ↑ The ZEELINK pipeline crosses under the Rhine. October 16, 2019, accessed on November 3, 2019 (German).
  11. ↑ Gas consumption: conversion from cubic meters to kilowatt hours , gas-magazin.de. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ Gas Network Development Plan 2014 . Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  13. ↑ Gas Network Development Plan 2014 . Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  14. ↑ Website of the Federal Network Agency http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/ElektrizitaetundGas/Verbrauch/NetzschlussUndMessung/UmstellungGasbeschläge/UmstellungGasqualitaet-node.html . Retrieved February 12, 2016.