In an interview published by Apollo News titled “Energiekrise: Wir werden es schon in diesem Winter spüren”, German chemist, manager, and energy expert Prof. Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt presents a critical assessment of Germany’s energy policy…

Warns of severe economic and social consequences.

Screenshot Apollo News. 

Loss of competitiveness

Vahrenholt warns of deindustrialization and a potential destabilizing loss of competitiveness. High energy costs and policy-driven phase-outs of reliable baseload power (such as nuclear and coal) are pricing German industry out of global markets.

Key industrial sectors (chemicals, manufacturing, steel) are relocating capital and production abroad, leading to structural economic decline.

Vahrenholt points out that energy supply risks, particularly gas storage levels and grid stability, remain precarious entering the upcoming winter period. “We will soon feel it this winter,” Vahrenholt warns.

Relying heavily on volatile renewable sources (wind and solar) without sufficient backup storage or baseload generation creates grid vulnerability and potential supply bottlenecks.

Global divergence in energy strategy

While Germany has phased out nuclear energy, major industrial powers like China, the United States, and several European neighbors are expanding nuclear energy and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to power future technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and heavy manufacturing.

Germany’s unilateral approach places it at a competitive and technological disadvantage relative to global rivals. “The energy transition is not a transition, but a retreat. Anyone who shuts down progress shuts down the future,” Vahrenholt told Apollo News.

Advocactes nuclear energy re-entry

Vahrenholt argues that returning to nuclear energy is essential for securing cheap, low-emission, and continuous energy supplies necessary to preserve prosperity and tech leadership. “Germany has not only shut down reactors, but destroyed the promise of the future for coming generations—while China and America compete over AI leadership and industrial power.”