Between 2005 and 2014, Germany saw a gradual reduction in its natural gas consumption, with levels falling to 73.9 billion cubic meters. Over the following years, the country’s consumption experienced a mostly increasing trend, reaching 75.7 billion cubic meters in 2023. In comparison, domestic production has been in annual decline since 2003. Demand is expected to increase in the future because of a move away from coal and nuclear power. These energy sources made up around 40 percent of Germany’s energy mix in 2021. Dependence on energy imports Due to increased demand and falling production, Germany is heavily reliant on energy imports, with its dependency rate increasing to 63.6 percent in 2018. In 2021, Germany imported 102 billion cubic meters of natural gas, by far the highest rate throughout Europe. Imports are expected to increase further as coal and nuclear power is phased out. Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline In 2018, Germany granted permission for the construction of a 746-mile gas pipeline expansion to the Nord Stream pipeline. It will connect Russia with Germany through the Baltic sea and will have a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. This plan has not been without controversies, however. There are fears it will increase German reliance on Russian energy. Ukraine, which the pipeline bypasses, filed a lawsuit against its construction, and 10 European countries officially stated that the project was not in the EU’s best interests. Nonetheless, as of July 2021, U.S. and Germany's representatives agreed on the completion of Nord Stream 2.

In January 2023, the natural gas consumption volume in Germany amounted to 9.3 billion cubic meters (bcm). That was a considerable decrease compared to the previous two Januaries, with a consumption volume of approximately 12.6 bcm in January 2021 and 11.15 bcm in January 2022.

Natural gas consumption in Germany is at a high level. Consumption of natural gas in the country gradually increased over the past forty years from 1980 to 2023 – to a level of 75.7 billion cubic meters. This development reflects the partial substitution of fossil fuel by natural gas.

The consumption of natural gas in the European Union has fluctuated since 1998. It increased to a peak of 423.2 billion cubic meters in 2010, but by 2022 had fallen to around 319.5 billion cubic meters. Natural gas consumption in the EU was only lower than oil consumption, despite the overall decrease. Production of natural gas in decline Although the consumption of natural gas is expected to increase across the region, production in the EU has fallen significantly over the past two decades. By 2021 had fallen by approximately 81 percent. EU reliant on Russian exports With the production of natural gas in decline, the EU is expected to become more reliant on international imports. Overall, there was a six percent increase of imports in 2019 when compared to the previous year. Currently, the main exporter of gas to the EU is Russia, who in 2017 exported 39 percent of all imports. Plans for a 746-mile gas pipeline from Russia to Germany in the Baltic Sea are set to go ahead. The Nord Stream 2 project has received critics from the US and EU over fears it will increase Europe’s reliance on gas imports from Russia.

In 2021, around 108 terawatt hours of energy consumed by German households came from renewable energies. The main energy source, with 302 terawatt hours consumed, was gas.

As of November 2024, Germany has imported no Russian natural gas since September 2022. To compare, in August 2022, the import volume of the named commodity stood at around 953 million cubic meters. Over the period observed, the highest figure was recorded at 5.2 billion cubic meters in December 2021.

German industrial consumers have seen a reduction in the price of natural gas since 2010. Prices fell from 3.82 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2010, to 3.19 euro cents per kilowatt hour in 2021, for users with an annual consumption greater than 10,000 gigajoules (GJ) and lower than 100,000 GJ.Natural gas in GermanyNatural gas plays a significant role in the German energy mix. As of 2019, the country generated 14.9 percent of their energy using natural gas as the primary fuel source. In that same year, a total of 90.5 terawatt hours of electricity was generated using natural gas.However, domestic natural gas production has been reduced considerably in Germany over the past decade. In 2008, Germany's natural gas production stood at 13.6 billion cubic meters, a volume that would eventually sink to 5.3 billion cubic meters by 2019. Natural gas price for householdsHowever, while prices for the industry have been declining, German households have continuously had to dig deeper into their pockets in oder to pay their gas bill. Residential gas prices in Europe were around double the price for industrial clients. German households with an annual consumption below 200 GJ paid 6.1 euro cents per kilowatt hour. Dutch households paid the most.

For North Macedonia, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia was the only source of natural gas supply in 2019. Another European country highly dependent on Russian gas was Latvia, where it occupied over 90 percent of the total in 2021. In Estonia, the portion of natural gas from Russia was significantly lower, measured at 12 percent. Russia accounted for over 39 percent of all extra-EU gas imports in 2021.

How much natural gas does Russia export?

Russia is the leading exporter of natural gas worldwide, far outpacing the exports of that commodity by the United States, Qatar, and Norway. In 2021, the country exported 201.7 billion cubic meters of gas via pipelines and 39.6 billion cubic meters of liquified natural gas (LNG). The exports increased continuously between 2014 and 2019, while the year 2020 saw a four percent decline in the volume as a result of a lower fuel demand during imposed lockdowns and slower economic activity due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Russian gas exports during the war in Ukraine

Exports of Russian gas to Europe were severely affected by the invasion of Ukraine which began in February 2022. In response to the war, European countries sought to reduce their reliance on Russian gas. Between January 1 and July 15, 2022, the Russian company Gazprom exported over 33 percent less gas to the far abroad compared to the same period of the previous year. Furthermore, Germany announced the suspension of the certification process for Nord Stream 2, while Russia shut down all gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 in September 2022, before leaks were detected on both pipelines. Gas exports from Russia to India and China also did not increase in monetary terms in July and August 2022 in comparison to February and March 2022.

In 2024, the German market for vacuum pumps and air or gas compressors decreased by -9.7% to $1.9B, falling for the third year in a row after two years of growth. Overall, consumption showed a relatively flat trend pattern. Over the period under review, the market attained the peak level at $4.3B in 2021; however, from 2022 to 2024, consumption failed to regain momentum.

The German breathing appliances market was estimated at $1.9B in 2024, therefore, remained relatively stable against the previous year. Over the period under review, consumption, however, enjoyed a remarkable increase. Over the period under review, the market reached the peak level at $2.1B in 2021; however, from 2022 to 2024, consumption remained at a lower figure.

Germany has the highest natural gas consumption of any European Union Member State. In 2022, Germany's final energy consumption of natural gas reached over 50.77 million metric tons of oil equivalent. Natural gas is an important means of generating electricity and heat in the EU and also serves as a feedstock for multiple industrial manufacturing processes. The total natural gas share in final EU energy use stood at 19.7 percent that same year.

Mineral oil remains Germany's most important primary energy source and accounted for 36.9 percent of the country's primary energy consumption in 2024. Although the natural gas share decreased from 24.7 percent in 2023 to 23.5 percent in 2023, it remained a leading source in Germany's energy mix. Germany phased-out nuclear energy in April 2023.

Russia accounted for 18 percent of the value of natural gas imports into the European Union (EU) from non-EU countries in the second quarter of 2024. The share was higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year, but significantly lower than in 2021. The decrease was due to the Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and the reduction of gas supplies by Gazprom to Europe. Which EU countries import gas from Russia? In 2023, the EU imported 27 billion cubic meters of natural gas via pipelines from Russia, compared to 140 billion cubic meters in 2021. Among the EU countries, Germany was by far the largest importer of natural gas from Russia. Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries such as Poland, Czechia, and Hungary also ranked in the top 10 before the war in Ukraine given their high dependence on Russian gas. After the onset of the war in 2022, Turkey and China emerged as some of the largest buyers of Russian pipeline gas. The future of natural gas in a climate-neutral Europe Gas continues to be the second-most important primary energy source in the EU, after petroleum-based products. However, to stay within the Paris Agreement’s target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the EU is actively looking for ways to accelerate the transition to more renewable sources of energy, including the adoption of the European Green Deal and the Commission’s "Fit for 55" proposal and RePowerEU plan. Under these sustainable scenarios, the European gas demand is estimated to fall from 617 billion cubic meters in 2018 to 380 billion cubic meters in 2040.

Germany has the largest import volume of natural gas among European countries. In 2022, Germany bought roughly 87.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas from outside trading partners. This was followed by Italy, which imported 72.6 billion cubic meters worth. That year, overall natural gas imports into the region increased as economic activity in many countries recovered. Where is natural gas imported from? Natural gas may be imported either in its gaseous state via pipelines or as LNG (liquefied natural gas). The European continent has primarily relied on imports via pipelines from large producing neighbors such as Russia. However, with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war and sanctions imposed on Russian energy imports, supply routes have shifted. Although Russian gas dependence remains high, particularly in Eastern European countries, expansion of LNG infrastructure has allowed for Europe to become the main destination for LNG from the United States. Within the span of one year, LNG imports from the U.S. had doubled in multiple European countries. Production declines as consumption remains high The European Union’s production of natural gas has been in decline for decades, and by 2022 fell to a low of 41 billion cubic meters. In comparison, natural gas consumption remains comparatively high, with the fossil fuel largely used for heating, electricity generation, and industrial purposes.

Countries in Europe have some of the highest natural gas prices for the industry in the world. In the second quarter of 2024, industrial customers in Switzerland paid approximately 0.16 U.S. dollars per megawatt hour worth of natural gas. This was considerably higher than the price of gas in natural gas producing countries such as Russia and Algeria. Determining natural gas prices Like other commodities, natural gas prices are driven by supply and demand trends. In some instances, they may also reflect developments within the oil market, as both commodities are often produced together. Natural gas prices are volatile. Seeing as the consumption of natural gas is often without alternative (e.g. within power plants), short-term changes to supply and demand have huge repercussions for the market. Weather is also a common determinant of natural gas prices. Unprecedented heat waves in the U.S. have driven up electricity demand for air conditioning and affected weekly Henry Hub natural gas prices in the hotter summer months. Natural gas demand Primary energy demand generated by natural gas worldwide is highest in North America. Nevertheless, forecasts suggest that the Asia Pacific region will experience a doubling in such demand by 2050 and overtake consumers in North America. The United States is still leading a ranking of world natural gas consumption by country. However, China has increased its LNG and gas pipeline investment portfolio, which could see it becoming an even greater consumer in the future.

Von den 819 Terawattstunden, die 2024 an Erdgas verbraucht wurden, entfielen etwa 37 Prozent auf die Industrie und 31 Prozent auf Haushalte. Im 10-Jahresvergleich zeigt sich der verstärkte Einsatz von Erdgas in der Stromversorgung.