Hanseatic Energy Hub for Germany’s first land-based LNG terminal. The advisors

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Hanseatic Energy Hub GmbH in relation to the financing of the development, construction and operation of Germany’s first land-based terminal for liquefied gases.

Clifford Chance advised with an international team led by partner Florian Mahler (pictured).

The team comprised counsels Georg Lübbehüsen (Frankfurt) and Nicolas Cookson, associates Marius Fritz, Iryna Karpliuk and Brianna Harcus, transaction lawyer Muhammad Vantra (all Düsseldorf) and trainee solicitor Tim Bitterlich (London, all Global Financial Markets), partner Mathias Elspaß, counsel Zaid Mansour and associate Marie Sofie Karle (all Energy, Düsseldorf). Hedging advice was provided by partner Anne Louise Drakeford (London), counsels David Neu (Munich) and Radoslav Lolov (Frankfurt) as well as associate Christopher Banks (Munich, all Global Financial Markets). The Luxembourg office advised with partner Martin Wurth, senior associate Donald Sefer, associate Tjasa Perger and trainee lawyer Victor Hilbertz (all Global Financial Markets).

From Madrid, partner Iñigo Villoria (Litigation & Dispute Resolution), partner Eugenio Fernández-Rico and associates Álvaro Cabaleiro and María González (all Global Financial Markets) provided support. Further team members were partner Daniel Mathew Winick and associate Ronald Britt, II (both New York).

Details on the operation

The total investment volume dor the financing amounts to approx. €1.6 billion. By reaching financial close, Hanseatic Energy Hub GmbH has achieved a major milestone. The terminal in Stade near Hamburg in Lower Saxony is the first project-financed land-based LNG terminal in Germany. The shareholders of Hanseatic Energy Hub GmbH include Partners Group, Enagás, Dow and the Buss Group.

The official ground-breaking ceremony for the energy hub in the Stade industrial park is scheduled to be held in the coming weeks.

The facility is set to receive its first cargo in 2027. In a first expansion phase, an emission-free LNG terminal is to be put into operation, the infrastructure of which is also authorised for bio LNG and synthetic natural gas (SNG).

This will later be followed by ammonia as a carbon-neutral, hydrogen-based energy carrier. With a total capacity of 13.3 billion cubic metres of LNG per year, the Hanseatic Energy Hub will play an important role in securing the energy supply and supporting the energy transition in both Germany and wider Europe. In addition, the FSRU “Energos Force”, one of five floating LNG terminals chartered by Germany’s federal government and on site since March 2024, will continue to secure the gas supply in the short term until the more efficient land-based terminal is completed.

Florian Mahler, partner at Clifford Chance: “This is another landmark transaction in the energy and energy transition sector in Germany and globally, showing our strong capabilities and integrated team approach. Securing the first project financing of a land-based LNG terminal in Germany is a huge achievement for all parties involved.”

With this mandate, Clifford Chance is emphasising its strategic focus on the energy sector and advising on the energy transition. Its global energy and infrastructure practice group is being continuously expanded, most recently with the opening of an office specialising in the energy transition sector in Houston, USA for which many new partners have been recruited.