Germany is falling behind in its race to refill its gas storage facilities before winter, prompting calls for stronger incentives to accelerate injections.

High market prices have slowed the refilling of Germany’s storage facilities, putting the country’s target at risk.

German storage facilities were approximately 51.5% full on 25 August, compared with around 69% a year earlier. Germany is required to reach an aggregate filling level of 70% by 1 November.

Storage levels are also low elsewhere in Europe. Dutch state-owned gas-infrastructure company Gasunie has warned that the Netherlands could miss its target this year.

Germany has Europe’s largest gas-storage capacity, so its slow filling makes a significant contribution to the European shortfall.

According to Heinermann, Germany has around 45 TWh less gas in storage than it did a year ago — roughly equivalent to the Czech Republic’s entire gas-storage capacity.

However, around 78% of available storage capacity has already been booked, Heinermann said. This does not guarantee that it will be filled. Booking gives traders the right to use the space, while the amount of gas injected depends on market conditions.

Why are companies not storing more gas?

High prices mean it is not currently profitable for companies to buy and store large quantities of gas. Normally, suppliers buy cheaper gas in the summer, store it and sell it at higher prices in the winter.

The war in Iran has driven up global market prices, making storage less commercially attractive. On Friday, the benchmark European gas price, the Dutch TTF front-month contract, was trading at around €69 per megawatt-hour, up from about €29 at the beginning of the year.

“Storage spreads have improved recently, but they have not improved to an extent that would make additional storage injections economically viable.”

A spokesperson added that the company did not see an acute supply shortage in Europe. Uniper said Germany could still reach its target of 70% or more by 1 November if market conditions “create stronger incentives for injections”.

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German state-owned energy company SEFE cited the latest analysis by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, which found that the target could still be reached with an average injection rate of 0.75 TWh a day.

RWE Gas Storage West also said it expected the target to be met based on current injection rates.

The German Economy Ministry previously stated that “According to current information, a gas shortage is not expected this coming winter.”

The national news agency dpa reported that the ministry acknowledged that storage levels were considerably lower than in previous years but said security of supply depended on more than stored volumes. Germany can also draw on Norwegian pipeline gas, LNG terminals and supplies from neighbouring countries.

The ministry said storage levels of between 60% and 70% at the start of winter, combined with available imports, would be sufficient to meet demand during an average winter.

Industrial production at risk in a cold winter

While there is no immediate threat, Heinermann warned that low storage could become a problem in severe weather.

“If gas prices then rise above the level that industrial consumers can afford, companies will be forced to reduce production,” he said, adding that it could lead to potentially substantial economic damage.

Although the importance of fossil fuels is steadily declining, gas remains important to households, industry and electricity generation. In 2025, gas accounted for 16.1% of Germany’s domestic electricity production, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

German manufacturers are also concerned that low storage could leave the country buying expensive LNG during the winter, adding to the pressure on industry.

A spokesperson for the German Pharmaceutical Industry Association (BPI) told German newspaper Pharmazeutische Zeitung this week that a combination of low storage, severe cold and supply disruption would be problematic because many pharmaceutical production processes depend on gas and cannot easily be shut down or switched at short notice.

Germany’s mechanical engineering sector has also sounded the alarm. Thilo Brodtmann, director-general of the German mechanical engineering association VDMA, said in a statement quoted by Welt: “A physical gas shortage or skyrocketing prices would pose a significant threat to the industry.”

How could Germany accelerate storage filling?

According to INES, the priority is to strengthen the financial incentives for companies to store gas.

Heinermann said, “removing network charges for storage and the gas conversion levy, for example, would reduce the cost of storing gas and make injections more commercially attractive.” He added that reducing bureaucracy would also lower costs.

If companies do not use the storage capacity they have booked and Germany risks missing its filling target, the unused capacity must be made available to Trading Hub Europe (THE). With government and regulatory approval, THE can then hold public tenders to secure additional gas for storage.

VNG said that if companies failed to put enough gas into storage, one solution could be for the government to pay energy companies to guarantee that agreed volumes would be available during a crisis.

Companies would compete to provide this emergency supply, which VNG says would be cheaper for taxpayers and less disruptive to the gas market than direct government purchases.

Looking beyond this winter, Germany plans to introduce a state-controlled strategic gas reserve from the 2027–28 storage year to protect against major import disruptions.

The proposed reserve would hold around 24 TWh of gas, equivalent to almost 10% of national storage capacity. However, the scheme has not yet been passed into law and is not expected to provide protection before winter 2027–28.