Warning of the failure of thousands of trucks: "Then Germany will stand still"
Created: 09/09/2022, 12:40 p.m
By: Lucas Maier
The ongoing gas crisis is hitting many areas in Germany hard.
Now there is a shortage that could have far-reaching consequences.
Kassel – Most people in Germany are only familiar with empty supermarket shelves since the hamster purchases during the corona pandemic.
In the course of the energy crisis, however, there could soon be missing items from Aldi, Lidl and Co. again.
The background is an acute shortage of the exhaust gas cleaning agent Adblue.
The Federal Association of Goods Transport and Logistics (BGL) therefore warns of supply bottlenecks in Germany due to the Adblue shortage, as the French news
agency AFP
writes.
Without Adblue, thousands of trucks could fail.
According to BGL, almost every truck in the forwarding, logistics and transport industry in Germany runs on diesel and is dependent on Adblue.
The urea solution Adblue is used in the exhaust aftertreatment of diesel engines.
A shortage could result in thousands of trucks breaking down.
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
Adblue crisis: Largest German manufacturer nitrogen works Piesteritz shuts down plants
One of the largest Adblue producers is the nitrogen works Piesteritz (SKW) in Saxony-Anhalt.
Around 40 percent of the German demand for Adblue is produced there, as
AFP
writes.
The systems at Germany's largest Adblue manufacturer have been idle for about two weeks.
At SKW, Adblue production is linked to fertilizer production.
Adblue
Adblue is a urea solution that is used in the exhaust aftertreatment of diesel engines.
Adblue causes a reduction in the emitted nitrogen oxides by up to 90 percent.
According to BGL, the Adblue consumption of trucks on German roads is around five million liters per day.
The catalytic converters in diesel engines need the urea Adblue to split harmful nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gases into harmless hydrogen and nitrogen.
Newer diesel vehicles can no longer be started at all without Adblue.
Source: AFP/dpa
Since the production of fertilizers would currently be unprofitable due to the high gas prices in Germany, both productions are currently at a standstill, as the
German Press Agency (dpa)
reports.
Gas is not only an energy supplier in the production of Adblue, it is also the basic raw material of the product.
"We cannot replace it," an SKW spokesman told
AFP.
Importing Adblue not an option: "Everywhere in Europe, the plants are standing still"
A separate production of AdBlue is not possible at SKW, a spokesman told the
dpa
.
Importing the material, which is essential for logistics, is also very difficult, according to the Federal Association of Goods Transport and Logistics (BGL).
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Adblue deficiency: Experts warn of empty supermarket shelves in Germany.
(symbol photo) © Swen Pförtner/dpa
"Everywhere in Europe, the plants are at a standstill," said BGL general manager Dirk Engelhardt on Thursday (September 8) to the
dpa
.
In addition, there would be no transport capacity for such large quantities of the urea solution.
If the companies' Adblue reserves are used up, "Germany will stand still", Engelhardt sums up the situation to
Focus
.
Energy crisis hits Adblue production: government is concerned
The federal government "noted with concern" the standstill of the plants in the Piesteritz nitrogen works, as
AFP
quoted a government spokesman as saying.
They already have a "liquidity program" in hand, it said on Wednesday (September 7th).
BGL Managing Director Dirk Engelhardt warns that the first bottlenecks as a result of the Adblue shortage could occur in as little as two weeks.
Engelhardt calls on the government to convene a "logistics round table".
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) is driving "Germany with one eye to the wall",
AFP
quotes the industry representative as saying.
(Lucas Maier)