LNG (liquefied natural gas) refers to natural gas that has been liquefied by cooling it to a temperature of -162 °C. This compresses its volume to 1/600th of its original size.

LNG is non-toxic, colourless and odourless, and is non-flammable in its liquefied (and therefore cryogenic) state. The flammability limits for mixtures of LNG and air are between 5% and 15%.

LNG consists mainly of methane (approx. 98%) as well as ethane, butane, propane and nitrogen. LNG is not pressurised and can be stored and transported efficiently and safely.

LNG is transported across the world’s oceans to LNG import terminals by LNG carriers. The largest ships of this type are the so-called Qmax carriers, which have a capacity of 267,000 m³. An LNG import terminal serves, among other things, as a distribution centre.

At the import terminal, the LNG can be reloaded onto smaller ships, tank trucks or rail tank cars. This allows onward transport to small distribution centres and/or direct supply to supply truck filling stations. LNG can also be loaded into LNG bunker vessels at the import terminal. Bunker vessels are floating fuel stations which supply various ships in ports.

Unloaded LNG is temporarily stored at the terminal to balance unloading volumes and feed-in volumes into the national high-pressure natural gas network. Before being fed into the network, LNG is heated back to its gaseous state and compressed. It is then fed into the national high-pressure network at high pressure for trading and onward transport to end consumers or underground gas storage facilities.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is used as an alternative fuel in the mobility sector (shipping and heavy goods transport). However, it is mainly used as an energy source for private and commercial customers once it has been converted back into a gaseous state (regasification).