Lithuania and the United States set to strengthen strategic partnership in energy

Visiting Washington, Lithuanian Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. During the meeting, opportunities for strengthening cooperation were discussed, with particular focus on the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), technologies for the development of clean energy, including nuclear energy, and the protection of critical energy infrastructure in the Baltic Sea Region.

"The United States has consistently supported Lithuania's key energy security projects - the Klaipėda LNG terminal, diversification of electricity and gas imports, disconnection from the BRELL grid, and synchronisation with the continental European network. Strong and reliable transatlantic relations remain no less important in the current geopolitical security situation," said Minister Vaičiūnas.

The Klaipėda LNG terminal is the first and only terminal in the region that can ensure LNG supply not only to Lithuania, but also to the entire region - Estonia, Latvia and Poland. Lithuania started importing LNG from the United States in 2017, making it one of the first European countries to do so. Since February 2022, the Klaipėda LNG terminal has not imported a single Russian LNG cargo. In 2024, a total of 24 TWh of gas, or 24 LNG cargoes, were imported through the Klaipėda LNG terminal. Most of the LNG is imported from the United States and Norway.

"We see great potential for even broader and more intense cooperation. LNG imports from the United States through the Klaipėda LNG terminal could be increased to the maximum possible amount, ensuring the needs of the entire region. Another intended use of the Klaipėda LNG terminal is to contribute to meeting Ukraine's gas supply needs by using the terminal's capacities and the GIPL gas interconnection between Lithuania and Poland," commented the minister.

Considerable attention was also given to the security of critical energy infrastructure. The minister stressed that at the moment, the most important element of preparedness for potential energy crises is its protection from both physical and cyber threats, so infrastructure protection and resilience must be bolstered. The Baltic States and Poland are ready to become a model for the protection and resilience of EU infrastructure, which, in cooperation with NATO, could be applied in other regions as well. At the meeting, attention was drawn to remote-controlled renewable energy converters (inverters) - primarily for solar power plants - from countries that are hostile to Lithuania and Europe, as this is a potential security threat that must be managed.

The Minister of Energy and the U.S. Secretary of Energy also discussed the possibility of using small modular reactor (SMR) technologies in Lithuania. SMRs are one of the main alternatives for the future, as they ensure generating capacity and industrial decarbonisation and promote the development of renewable energy resources.

During the trip, Minister Vaičiūnas also visited the Nuclear Energy Institute and met with SMR developers. Lithuania is interested in U.S. leadership in the areas of nuclear technology, security, green hydrogen development and clean energy.