German industrial companies used almost a tenth less energy last year than in 2021. This is mainly because production was cut back due to high prices for gas and electricity.
In 2022, German industry reduced its energy consumption by 9.1 percent compared to the previous year. Of the total 3,562 petajoules consumed, the vast majority, namely 89 percent, was used to generate electricity and heat, as the Federal Statistical Office announced today.
The remaining 11 percent of the energy was used as raw materials, for example in the production of chemicals, fertilizers or plastics.
Higher prices reduce production and consumption
The Federal Statistical Office attributes the lower consumption to high energy prices. After Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, prices rose sharply. This is also why production has been cut back in numerous industrial companies. According to statisticians, production in energy-intensive industries in 2022 was 7.1 percent below the previous year.
The industry has made particularly significant savings on natural gas. Consumption fell by over 17 percent. Nevertheless, natural gas remained the most frequently used energy source in German industry at 28 percent. This was followed by electricity (21 percent), mineral oils and petroleum products (18 percent) and coal (15 percent).
The chemical industry remains the largest consumer
The chemical industry continued to consume most of the energy – a share of 28 percent – in 2022. This was followed by metal production and processing with around 23 percent and coking and mineral oil processing with 10 percent.
In contrast to most other industrial sectors, around a third of the energy sources in the chemical industry were not used for energy purposes, but rather as raw materials for chemical products. When it comes to purely energy use, the metal industry had the largest share, around a quarter.
To determine energy use, the Federal Statistical Office examines 47,000 manufacturing, mining and stone and earth extraction companies with more than 20 employees.