MET Group, a European energy company headquartered in Switzerland, has acquired 100% of KGE (Kommunale Gasspeichergesellschaft Epe mbH & Co. KG), an underground gas storage operator in Gronau, North Rhine-Westphalia. With this acquisition, MET Group is strengthening its commitment to investing in the gas infrastructure in Germany.

Founded in 2007, KGE operates an underground gas storage facility with a total volume of 179 million cubic meters in Gronau-Epe. It also has a maximum injection capacity of 150,000 Nm³/h and a maximum withdrawal capacity of 400,000 Nm³/h. The facility is connected to the Trading Hub Europe (TSO: Open Grid Europe) market area. Until the time of the transaction, the shareholders were EWMR (Energie- und Wasserversorgung Mittleres Ruhrgebiet GmbH), Dortmunder Energie- und Wasserversorgung GmbH (DEW21), Stadtwerke Essen AG, GELSENWASSER AG and MET Holding Germany.

With the completion of the transaction, the four municipal companies in the Ruhr region have sold their entire shares in the natural gas storage company to the MET Group. In Germany, MET has already been active for several years as an operator of natural gas storage facilities at the Etzel (Lower Saxony) and Reckrod (Hesse) locations.

“I am delighted with this transaction, which strengthens our position in the German market. It is an excellent example of how MET can bring value to the European gas markets,” said Benjamin Lakatos, Chairman and CEO of MET Group.