Germany's energy-hungry small firms struggle with green shift
Small companies that form the backbone of the German economy are struggling with the shift to carbon-neutral production, which adds extra costs when they are already battling high power prices and a broader slowdown.
MPG Tubes — fairly typical among "Mittelstand" small- and medium-sized businesses in Europe's top economy — faces a huge challenge to heat metal to 1,500 degrees Celsius without producing any of the key greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
Its foundry is partially electrified but still uses two gas-fired furnaces to reach the temperatures needed to create tubes with a perfectly smooth finish, used in areas including construction of power plants, the automotive industry and shipbuilding.
"The major task ahead of us is to electrify all natural gas applications," Andreas Gahl, head of the firm with 145 employees in the western Sauerland region, told AFP.
