Still, the trade has become a headache for Germany, which has explicitly said it won’t use gas from Russia in the fallout of the war in Ukraine. Berlin is facing sharp criticism over concerns that a government-run company still has ties to Moscow, despite its political rhetoric.

The record-high prices that were triggered by Russia’s squeeze on deliveries last year are now gone, but worsening economic conditions are hitting demand just as hard. Gas usage across Europe’s industrial landscape is projected to remain about 20% below 2021 levels.

The auction will award up to €800 million to renewable hydrogen producers in the European Economic Area (EEA). The support will take the form of a fixed premium in €/kg of renewable hydrogen produced over ten years of operation, therefore targeting the gap between the production costs and the demand’s willingness to pay.

Benchmark futures settled 3.9% higher after another session of sharp price moves. Searing temperatures in parts of the region and global competition for liquefied natural gas continue to provide upward pressure — even as flows from Norway, Europe’s top supplier, return to levels last seen in April.

About 40% of new global LNG output will come from Qatar by 2029, said Minister of Energy Saad al-Kaabi at the LNG 2023 conference.

By 2021, wind, solar, and natural gas provided 48 percent of Germany’s electricity, and provided most of the electricity consumed in Italy (63%), the UK (64%), and the Netherlands (78%).

In 2021, Russia pumped about 150 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas to Europe — more than enough to satisfy the combined annual consumption of Germany, France and Austria. Europe represented two-thirds of the country’s gas exports including flows of liquified natural gas.

France, which relies on nuclear for the bulk of its electricity supply, has been pushing to allow a greater role for the technology in the energy transition.

Russia has taken control of other energy assets owned by Western investors since the war started.

There is sufficient energy in nuclear 'waste' to run Europe at current electrical power consumption" for between 600 and 1000 years.