Germany’s reliance on liquid natural gas (LNG) supplied by the United States has grown noticeably. Official U.S. export data, analyzed by the German environmental organisation Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and reported in “Spiegel”, show that the country imported roughly 101 terawatt‑hours (TWh) of gas from the U.S. last year – a rise of more than 60 % over the previous year.
Of all LNG that arrives at German ports, about 96 % now originates from the United States. The price paid has climbed from approximately $1.9 billion in 2024 to around $3.2 billion in the most recent period.
The amount of LNG shipped through German terminals into the domestic gas network increased from 69 TWh in 2023 to 106 TWh. Brunsbüttel’s terminal operated at about 84 % utilisation, the two vessels in Wilhelmshaven together at roughly 65 %, while the controversial Rügen terminal remained the least busy at only 48 %.
The DUH has criticised this trend sharply. DUH’s federal managing director, Sascha Müller‑Kraenner, said that “Donald Trump intentionally uses gas deliveries to force Europe and Germany into a fatal fossil‑fuel dependence”. The organisation is demanding an immediate halt to further terminal expansion and the termination of any new import agreements for U.S. fracked gas.