Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Germany nationalizes gas giant amid energy crisis

Germany nationalizes gas giant amid energy crisis

Germany is to nationalize gas giant Uniper in an effort to secure energy supplies amid the war in Ukraine.
The deal will see the German government take on a 98.5% stake in the firm at a cost of €8.5bn (£7.4bn).

Germany is Europe's biggest importer of Russian gas, and has been particularly squeezed as Russia has reduced supplies in recent months.

Chief executive Klaus-Dieter Maubach said the deal would help Uniper's role as "a system-critical energy supplier".

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine it supplied Europe with about 40% of its natural gas, and has responded to Western sanctions by gradually cutting off supplies.

At the start of this month, it halted supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, claiming repairs were needed - but later said supplies would not resume until sanctions were lifted.

Uniper is the biggest buyer of Russian gas in Germany. In recent months it has had to replace Russian supplies with alternatives from the open market, where prices have soared.

Uniper's Finnish owner Fortum said the company has accumulated close to €8.5bn (£7.4bn) in gas-related losses "and cannot continue to fulfil its role as a critical provider of security of supply as a privately-owned company".

"The role of gas in Europe has fundamentally changed since Russia attacked Ukraine, and so has the outlook for a gas-heavy portfolio," Fortum chief executive Markus Rauramo said in a statement.

"As a result, the business case for an integrated group is no longer viable."

Under the terms of the deal, the German government will buy Fortum's shares in Uniper for €500m (£437m) and inject €8.0bn (£7.0bn) of cash into the business.

The government had already taken on a 30% stake of Uniper as part of a bailout agreement in July.

Earlier this month, it also entered discussions with another major gas supplier, VNG, over a possible bailout package.

Economy minister Robert Habeck said nationalizing Uniper was a "necessary" step that would help "ensure security of supply for Germany".

He also said that, despite the loss of Russian supplies, Germany had succeeded in filling its gas storage facilities to over 90% capacity ahead of winter.

"This means that, as a whole, we have coped quite well with the situation," he said. "But for Uniper the situation became significantly more dramatic and significantly worse."

At the start of September, Germany introduced a series of measures intended to cut energy use and stave off shortages over the coming months.

Businesses are no longer allowed to keep their doors open throughout the day to reduce the need for heating, and illuminated advertising must be switched off after 10pm.

The halls and corridors of most public buildings will no longer be heated, and offices can only be heated to a maximum of 19C.

In July, energy ministers across Europe also agreed to reduce their natural gas consumption by 15%.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×