In Wiesbaden's Kalle-Albert industrial park, concerns about the security of supply for the 75 local companies with their almost 6,000 employees are noticeably increasing due to the consequences of the Ukraine war.

"The most critical aspect is the stable supply of natural gas," says the industrial park operator Infraserv, whose crisis management team is examining the consequences of the war.

Oliver Bock

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus district and for Wiesbaden.

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Infraserv obtains the natural gas for the almost 100-hectare industrial park via a newly laid high-pressure natural gas pipeline from Eswe Supply, which in turn is connected to the Open Grid Europe network.

This year, the contractually obligated gas suppliers for the Leipziger Gasverbund industrial park are VNG AG and OMG Gas Marketing & Trading Deutschland GmbH.

According to Infraserv, both are among the largest German suppliers and have their own natural gas storage facilities.

However, if the transport of energy from Russia via the Baltic Sea pipeline "North Stream 1" to Germany were to be stopped at short notice, as Russia had threatened, Infraserv sees "probably drastic effects on the energy supply situation in Germany".

It is to be feared that the industrial use of natural gas would then have to be significantly restricted.

With then serious consequences for the traditional industrial park in Biebrich.

worst case scenarios

According to Infraserv, there are several "systemically important companies" in the Wiesbaden industrial park that produce preliminary products for the pharmaceutical industry and health care.

Infraserv is therefore in close contact with suppliers and network operators so that this constellation can be taken into account in the event of restrictions on natural gas deliveries for less important industrial customers.

In the event of a short-term cessation or massive restriction of the natural gas supply, "in all likelihood a large part of the value-added production will be lost" in the industrial park, warns Infraserv.

In this worst-case scenario, the economic consequences for the companies at the site are “currently not foreseeable”.

Among the companies are 15 large production companies from the food, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.

Infraserv's own options for buffering supply interruptions are limited.

The electricity requirement could be compensated for by purchasing additional electricity from the public grid.

However, the supply of steam energy from the company's own gas and steam power plant, which is "essential" for many large local companies, is critical.

Unlike electricity, steam cannot simply be obtained from other sources.

Infraserv only put its new gas and steam turbine power plant, which was built at a cost of around 95 million euros, into operation last year, with which the supply in the industrial park should be largely self-sufficient.

Infraserv examines different scenarios

Infraserv specifies the power plant's electrical output as 78 megawatts, and the steam output as 230 tons per hour.

At peak times, up to 20,000 cubic meters of natural gas (230,000 kilowatt hours) per hour are drawn via the new Eswe natural gas pipeline.

This means that two-thirds of the line's capacity is being used.

Infraserv is examining various scenarios as a way out of a conceivable natural gas shortage.

For example, if external electricity is purchased for the industrial park, the company's own power plant could be used almost exclusively for steam production.

Alternative fuel gases could also be added to the scarce natural gas “to a certain extent”.

For example, up to ten percent sewage gas or other liquid gases, which would require additional tanks.

In addition, according to Infraserv, it is already apparent that alternative fuels are currently not available in sufficient quantities on the markets.

risk to security of supply

With a few weeks' notice, Infraserv could also start up the old power plant's wood-fired boiler, which was still available as a "cold reserve", as a cold reserve.

True, this cauldron could be reactivated.

However, this would require a lead time of a few weeks and would require official approval steps.

The rising gas prices are less of a burden for Infraserv than the risks to security of supply, because the industrial park operator has signed long-term contracts.

Infraserv has secured 95 percent of the required natural gas volume for the current year and around two thirds for 2023.

"We analyze the price risks on a daily basis and discuss the procedure and long-term purchasing strategies with the large local companies in the energy advisory board of the industrial park," says Infraserv spokesman Thomas Deichmann.

However, there is a risk of default by the energy suppliers in view of the sharply rising purchase prices.

In order to minimize the risk of default, Infraserv has concluded strategic supply agreements with large suppliers that have their own gas storage facilities and distributed the quantities to the suppliers.

Failure of energy suppliers unlikely, according to Infraserv

Infraserv currently considers the risk of an energy trading crisis with the failure of energy suppliers to be low because government support programs have already been initiated and politicians have given assurances that they will counteract an energy supply crisis.

Meanwhile, Infraserv management has condemned the Russian armed forces' war of aggression and reports that donations have been made to provide humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian population.

However, because Germany gets more than half of its natural gas imports from Russia, the industrial park operator supports the federal government's position not to impose an embargo on Russian energy supplies because the consequences for the economy and society in Germany "would be very far-reaching".