Energy-intensive industries in Germany see 15-percent production fall since start of Ukraine war | Clean Energy Wire

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15 May 2026, 11:45

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Energy-intensive industries in Germany see 15-percent production fall since start of Ukraine war

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Energy-intensive industries in Germany experienced a production decline of 15.2 percent between February 2022 and March 2026, according to data from Germany’s Federal Statistics Office Destatis. Over the same period, production across the entire industrial sector fell by 9.5 percent.<br>Higher energy prices since the energy crisis, exacerbated by the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are hitting Germany’s energy-intensive industries especially hard, according to Destatis. The energy demand of these industrial sectors — including the chemical industry, metal production and processing, the manufacture of glass and ceramics, as well as the processing of stones and earths, the paper industry and petroleum processing — are particularly high in relation to their gross added value to Germany’s economy, said the statistics office.<br>The energy-intensive industry sectors accounted for more than 75 percent of all energy consumed by industry in Germany in 2024, according to Destatis. The chemical industry was the biggest energy consumer, accounting for 27.9 percent of total industrial energy consumption that year, followed by metal production and processing (23.7%) and petroleum processing (10.7%).<br>Production declined in almost every energy-intensive industry sector between February 2022 and March 2026, the data showed. The strongest decline was visible in the sector ‘manufacture of glass, glassware and ceramics, and processing of stone and earth’, where production decreased by 25 percent. An exception is the petroleum processing sector, where production increased by almost 25 percent, with significant growth since January 2026.<br>Germany’s industry is responsible for 22 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Germany, with most emissions covered under the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Industrial emissions had fallen by 48 percent in 2025 compared to 1990 levels. However, sectors such as steel, cement and chemicals are some of the Energiewende's toughest nuts to crack because deep emission reductions cannot be achieved simply by replacing fossil fuels with renewable power. Instead, entirely new production methods are required. In addition, affected companies in energy-intensive industry sectors insist that substantial financial support will have to trigger the necessary investments for the transition.

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