- Plant expansion improves security of supply for Germany and Europe. Work will start in May 2024, with commissioning scheduled for the end of 2026.

The State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) in Clausthal-Zellerfeld has presented GASCADE Gastransport GmbH (GASCADE) with the planning approval decision for the Rehden 2 compressor station (CS). Work will begin shortly in the district of Diepholz (Lower Saxony) in the joint municipality of Rehden directly next to the existing natural gas compressor station. The plan is to extend the station to the north with three new compressor units and the associated construction and operation of connecting pipelines.

The additional compressor units should be ready by the end of 2026. The entire completion of the facilities, including all buildings and outdoor facilities as well as the completion of the recultivation of all construction areas, is planned by the end of 2028. The expansion of the station is a measure from the Gas Network Development Plan 2022-2032 (NEP) and has therefore been confirmed as necessary by the Federal Network Agency. The investment volume is in the low three-digit million range.

"As part of the expansion measure, the installation of three additional electric compressors is planned, which will be connected to the existing pipeline infrastructure on site and the Rehden storage facility," explains GASCADE project manager Johannes Daum. "The additional compressor capacity is particularly necessary in order to feed natural gas into the North European Natural Gas Pipeline (NEL) and transport it to eastern Germany in the direction of Lubmin. An inlet pressure of 100 bar is required for feeds into the NEL, which the existing compressor station in Rehden is currently unable to provide."

The expanded site will occupy a special position in terms of security of supply for eastern Germany and our eastern and south-eastern European neighbors and will further strengthen security of supply there. Once the expansion is complete, additional feed-in capacities can be made available at the border crossing points of Eynatten (Belgium) and Bunde (Netherlands) to supply Germany's gas requirements with regasified liquefied natural gas (LNG) from our neighboring countries.

"To connect the new compressor station to GASCADE's long-distance gas pipeline network, new connecting lines are required to create a link to MIDAL (Central Germany gas link) and NOWAL (North-West pipeline link) as well as to the existing compressor station," adds GASCADE route engineer Michael Höhlschen, who oversaw the planning approval process, which has now been successfully completed. "In future, the existing CS Rehden and the CS Rehden 2 to be built will form a coherent facility with a joint operations building, joint access road and joint fencing around the site. The overall size of the natural gas compressor station will be roughly doubled compared to its current form."

About GASCADE

GASCADE Gastransport GmbH operates a gas pipeline network throughout Germany. The Kassel-based transmission system operator offers its customers modern and competitive transport services for natural gas and, in future, other gases in the heart of Europe via its own high-pressure pipeline network, which is around 3,700 kilometres long. GASCADE is pursuing the goal of successively converting its pipeline network to the transport of hydrogen and is therefore active in several onshore and offshore hydrogen projects.