The European energy crisis was triggered, as is now well known, by the cut in Russian gas supplies. Clearly, this abrupt halt has left various sectors unprotected, including industry and some chemical sectors, which had hitherto relied on supplies from Moscow.

Among the countries most affected are certainly Germany and Italy, because they are the most dependent on foreign supplies, with consequent repercussions on GDP.

A recent Moody’s dossier quantifies a decrease for Germany of 3-6 percentage points, while for Italy a less critical situation, with a reduction in growth of between 1 and 3 percentage points. According to the report, Italy loses less since it is more advanced in the process of diversification and implementation of renewable energy

Although the Russian president has nevertheless confirmed his intention to ship natural gas to Europe, the Union, given the difficult geopolitical balance, has taken into account a total interruption in supplies, thus asking member states for an overall 15% reduction in consumption, so as to be able to protect themselves during the coming winter.

As already mentioned, those who suffered most were certainly some sectors. A clear example is the building chemical industry, which uses a significant amount of energy from fossil fuels to produce materials such as drywall, fibrous materials for thermal insulation and special glass for windows and doors. For example, to produce drywall, plaster is first mined, dried, baked and then treated. It is an energy-consuming product. Same for glass, where the furnaces needed to blow and produce it are very energy-consuming too.

To avoid skyrocketing prices, this requires companies to think outside the box and try to find alternative solutions.

This phenomenon is part of a complex scenario of changing supply chains that, in addition to cost increases, also opens up markets previously considered unattractive or substitute products that have now become affordable, for example plasterfibre: a new natural drywall made of cellulose fibre, which in the building industry is derived from scrap paper and newspapers, with an energy consumption pattern different from the traditional natural product.

✅ Edited by Cristina from the UK office of Pangea Studio Associato Contact us for further details!

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