News

Ikea plans to close its customer service call center in Rostock, despite handling numerous product inquiries from across Germany. Staff were informed of the decision on February 25th. Ikea cites long-term structural decisions as the reason, but the expiring lease in 2026 also plays a key role. The company further points to necessary, costly investments […]

In Vienna, the Ministry of the Interior has ended the TRON project, which had been testing electric vehicles as police patrol cars since 2023. Negative practical experiences during operations were the deciding factor, leading Interior Minister Gerhard Karner to prematurely halt the trial. The test was conducted in real-world situations and across several federal states,

Germany plans to build twelve gigawatts of new gas-fired power plants, but a crucial point remains unresolved: there is no binding plan for the geographical distribution of these black-start capable power plants, which can restart the grid after a widespread power outage. While the federal government wants to attract investors primarily to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg

In January 2026, corporate tax revenues in Germany plummeted. Compared to January 2025, they fell by 79.1% to €181 million. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, this was due to significantly lower additional tax payments, while refunds increased. The Ministry also cites the weak economy, particularly in the industrial sector, as a contributing factor.

The German government has presented key points in Berlin for a new building modernization law, intended to replace the existing heating law (Building Energy Act) introduced by Robert Habeck. This initiative stems from the political restart following the collapse of the coalition government in 2024 and the controversy surrounding the de facto mandate for heat

The German Insurance Association (GDV) is warning of an increasing fire risk in maritime transport because more and more electric cars, energy storage systems, and other lithium batteries are being transported worldwide on cargo ships and in containers. According to insurers, the triggers are often cells already damaged during production or handling, which can later

Kay Scheller, President of the Federal Court of Auditors, accuses the German government of inefficiency and “state failure” in an interview with Welt am Sonntag, particularly regarding its handling of multi-billion-euro special funds. According to him, the debt-financed money too rarely flows into genuine investments, and the relevant authorities often fail to implement it effectively.

On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the chimney of the coal-fired power plant in Ibbenbüren was demolished, despite gas shortages and the fact that LNG terminals sometimes require icebreakers to clear ice. The demolition affected a plant that had been feeding 840 megawatts of controllable power into the German electricity grid. This controllable capacity is now

The 2026 federal budget allocates €31 billion for energy and climate subsidies, including €17 billion for the former EEG surcharge and €6.5 billion to mitigate grid fees. Since 2023, this funding has been provided through tax revenue instead of a surcharge on electricity bills, because the subsidy commitments continue to tie up funds. The decisive

In the Havelland district of Brandenburg, District Administrator Roger Lewandowski (CDU) has ended the “H2VL Hydrogen Region Havelland” project. He cites the lack of federal and state funding as the reason for abandoning the project. The project was intended to advance the energy transition in the district while simultaneously decarbonizing transportation and heating. The district

On Saturday evening, a container of electronic waste caught fire on the premises of a recycling company in the Enzberg district of Mühlacker, in the Enzkreis district. Initial investigations indicate that a battery spontaneously combusted, causing the stored material in the outdoor area to ignite. The fire produced thick smoke that spread to surrounding areas,

In recent days, several regions in Baden-Württemberg experienced power outages, some of them lengthy. On February 22, 2026, faults in the vicinity of a substation in Villingen triggered a widespread outage in the Schwarzwald-Baar district, causing traffic lights to fail, elevators to stop, and authorities to activate emergency call centers. On the same day, a

Many landowners are currently experiencing the collapse of commitments from wind energy projects because the lease payments no longer align with the developers’ revised market calculations. At the DLG event “Wind Lease – When the Wind Changes,” attorney Volker Henties explained the main reasons. The winning bids in the tenders have fallen significantly, while banks

China accelerated the expansion of its coal-fired power plant capacity in 2025, commissioning 52 large units (each with a capacity of ≥1 GW), according to the CREA/Global Energy Monitor report. This is the highest figure in ten years, during which fewer than 20 such large units were connected to the grid. The catalyst was the

Following the ban on Russian gas, Europe is restructuring its gas supply, but this course of action is driving Germany and the EU into renewed dependence on expensive US LNG. According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany sourced 96 percent of its LNG from the US last year. Within the European