Germany chases Canadian LNG to stave off supply shortages this winter
Germany is targeting Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help ease its shift away from Russian gas imports, as the Kremlin squeezes supplies in Europe.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “As Germany is moving away from Russian energy at warp speed, Canada is our partner of choice. For now, this means increasing our LNG imports. We hope that Canadian LNG will play a major role in this.”
This comes a day after Canada played down the economic viability and speed of setting up new export terminals.
Canada currently has no LNG terminals, although two are being built on the West Coast.
The country has two LNG projects planned on its Pacific coast, including Shell-led LNG Canada and Woodfibre LNG, set to begin operating in 2025 and 2027.
Trudeau did not rule out new LNG projects from Canada’s Atlantic coast, however he has emphasised the economic difficulties of such projects, which would take years to complete as the world races to cut its dependence on fossil fuels.
On the final day of an official visit that started on Sunday, Scholz and Trudeau in announced a “hydrogen alliance” aimed at accelerating efforts to export the clean fuel to Germany by 2025.
Through the hydrogen alliance, Canada and Germany intend to establish a transatlantic supply corridor while also developing policies to attract investments in hydrogen projects.
Trudeau said: “German companies are already signing deals to buy made-in-Canada hydrogen. There is no doubt the demand is there.”
German energy giants Uniper and EON earlier on Tuesday announced plans to buy a total of one million tonnes of green ammonia a year from the middle of the decade in partnership with Canada’s EverWind, in a bid to further diversify away from Russian energy.
Alongside hydrogen, Canada signed agreements on Tuesday with German carmakers Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz to ramp up efforts to secure access to key battery materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt that are needed for electric vehicles.
Away from Germany-Canada partnerships, Europe’s largest economy is looking to ensure domestic energy supplies are secure this winter.
Earlier this week, Uniper has revealed it would reopen another coal plant – Heyden 4 – ahead of an expected closure on Nord Stream 1 later this month.