Many Industrial Companies in Germany Cut Gas Consumption without Curbing Production
Many German companies in the manufacturing sector have been cutting back on natural gas with only minor restrictions on production. However, this will become more difficult in the future, as a survey by the ifo Institute shows. A total of 59 percent of the companies surveyed use natural gas in their production processes. Of these, 75 percent have saved on gas in the past six months without curtailing production. “This large proportion is encouraging, but the differences between industries are significant,” says Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources. “Moreover, the potential for further savings without a drop in production seems to be running out.”
Just 14.1 percent of companies have had to reduce production to use less gas, and 7.4 percent have not yet taken any measures to reduce their gas consumption. The number of companies that have already cut back production is particularly large in printing (40 percent), metal production and processing (35 percent), and textile manufacture (25 percent). The figure is 17.3 percent for chemical companies and 14 percent in glass/ceramics.
Regarding the next six months, only 38.8 percent of companies say they will be able to further reduce their gas consumption while keeping production at the same level. After all, 41.4 percent of industrial companies say that the only way for them to save more gas is if they cut back production at the same time. In the glass/ceramics industry, that figure is 69 percent; in the pharmaceutical industry, 67 percent; and in the chemical industry, 57 percent. And 12.3 percent of all industrial companies even state that in order to reduce gas consumption further, it will now be necessary to stop production altogether. This is particularly true of food and animal feed manufacturers (27 percent), printing companies (24 percent), and metal product manufacturers (also 24 percent).
