GSK Stockmann advised NPorts GmbH & Co. KG on state aid law in connection with the notification of infrastructure state aid for Germany’s first LNG terminal, Wilhelmshaven I, to the European Commission. The completion of the terminal back in December 2022 marked an important step towards Germany’s independence from Russian gas.
A GSK Stockmann team led by Dr Arne Gniechwitz advised NPorts on preparing the notification and on negotiating use agreements for the expanded port infrastructure at the Wilhelmshaven I LNG terminal, as well as on the notification procedure with the European Commission. The teams from NPorts and GSK Stockmann worked closely with the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Construction and Digitalisation and the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection.
Shortly after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, NPorts began upgrading Jetty 1 at the Vosslapper Groden transhipment terminal. The aim was to equip the jetty for Germany’s first LNG terminal in order to support Germany’s gas supply from as winter 2022 onwards. Following the groundbreaking ceremony on 6 May 2022, NPorts CEO Holger Banik, alongside the then Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the then Ministers Robert Habeck and Christian Lindner, inaugurated the upgraded jetty after a construction period of just 194 days. The speed with which this project was completed is still seen as proof that Germany can respond quickly to crises. The terminal, which is operated via the floating storage and regasification unit “Höegh Esperanza”, has a total capacity of almost five billion cubic metres of gas per year.
With an investment volume of around 56 million euros, the port infrastructure was initially financed through public funds and NPorts’ own resources. NPorts will repay the public funding contribution from usage fees paid by the terminal operators, which include companies belonging to Uniper SE, as well as the state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH.
In May 2022, NPorts, the State of Lower Saxony, represented by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport and Construction, and what is now the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy contacted the European Commission in May 2022 to ensure that the public funding allocated to the construction of the infrastructure for the Wilhelmshaven I LNG terminal was in line with EU state aid law. This was confirmed by the European Commission in its decision of 5 June 2026 (SA.103322 – Port infrastructure for LNG terminal Wilhelmshaven).
Advisers of NPorts GmbH & Co. KG at GSK Stockmann:
Dr Arne Gniechwitz (lead), Niklas Baasch (State Aid), Rebecca Comtesse, Louisa Hecker (Finance), Dr Oliver Koos, Robin Groth-Konradsen (Use Agreements)
