Subheadline blames China, no mention of energy cost
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2024
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To me the most insane thing about these Germany deindustrialization stories is that German domestic media has successfully avoided talking about sanctions as the real reason. For the first year until 2023 they mostly denied it happening altogether, then they started acknowledging high energy costs but blamed Russia, or rather "energy costs have risen due to Russia's unprovoked brutal war of aggression against Ukraine". It's really maddening to see it happen and people sincerely believing all that, and when you mention sanctions it's always "oh the sanctions are necessary, and I'm sure they hurt Russia more".
Deeply unserious country. I wonder and also fear what Germany will do when the industrial base has been substancially degraded, two to five years from now. Those jobs are gone for good then.
It's absolutely wild how they can pretend that the elephant in the room isn't there.
That's how you know their energy system is really on the ropes
The union welcomed Thyssenkrupp’s commitment to replace two of its blast furnaces with a direct reduction plant, which in the future will enable the company to produce less carbon-intensive steel using hydrogen.
Here's the fun thing about bulk hydrogen: it's produced using a process called "methane steam reforming". Anyone who tells you that they'll get the bulk hydrogen from electrolysis is either a fossil fuel agent, or an ignoramus who's listening to fossil fuel agents.
First, it releases ridiculous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Second, it uses methane as a feedstock.
Where will your methane come from, Germany?
For anyone who would like to learn more: Look up Green, Grey, Blue and black hydrogen. (Green is a scam, grey is made from gas so is blue and black is from coal. It's all awful.)
It was like only two years ago when LKAB, seemingly completely seriously, talked a bunch about how their steel production would be 100% fossil free in the near future. Their furnaces were to use about half of the electricity in Sweden. I think they gave up on that plan.
You know how they apparently can't make new steel anymore in the UK? What if that just keeps happening until steel is a consumer luxury item, an heirloom?
I know it's unrealistic but it's a funny thought. More likely people would just start taking steel off stuff to do their own things with.
At this point I half expect some sudden and byzantine micro market collapse to reveal that all the steel recycling plants in the country were at the end of a very long speculative financial chain that ended in Sharper Image, and only now has inertia come to claim them.
China pays for a 99 year lease of Liverpool with goods the british can't produce for themselves like pots and pans
China trade steel to UK but only in exchange for silver.
Like how marble from Roman ruins was taken to build whatever people wanted marble for. Real collapsing empire shit
that would be pretty funny
maybe if they prostrate themselves further as a vassal their yankee lords will deign to delegate some industry!
All this sounds like the most outrageous and ridiculous version of "you have two cows" joke, but it's even worse since it's real.
Is there any video on this, or can someone ELI5? It seems like the entire west is deciding to just give up and do nothing.
What's happening is that energy prices shot up after Germany lost access to cheap pipeline gas from Russia. At the same time, China started getting Russian energy at a discount. So, it's a double whammy for German industry. Their input costs went up significantly while the costs of their major competitor dropped. On top of that, the US has been actively poaching indsustry from Europe with the inflation reduction act that provides a lot of incentives for companies to move industry to the US.