Study 21: Outlook for energy cost trends and mitigation measures for manufacturers

Energy prices have risen significantly since the end of 2021. Forecasts from various organisations, drawn up before the current geopolitical crisis, also predict a long-term upward trend for natural gas, coal and oil. Industry is one of the economic sectors most exposed to this rise in energy prices. The impacts vary from one manufacturer to another and depend on their energy mix, energy consumption levels and the energy intensity of the raw materials used.

This study therefore presents a comparison of production costs between 2020 and 2030 for five industrial sectors, based on different scenarios for energy price trends. Several measures are currently available to mitigate these effects.

This report examined the following six categories of solutions: 

• Flexibility solutions,
• Energy efficiency measures,
• PPA/GPA contracts,
• Self-consumption, 
• Local energy communities
• Green energy supply contracts.

A number of criteria were taken into account in order to assess their relevance.