Deutsche Industrie und Energieversorgung setzten im Jahr 2022 weniger Wasser ein als 2019.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the use of water in Germany in the year 2022 was around 12.75 billion cubic meters, a decrease of approximately 2.56 billion cubic meters, or 16.7%, compared to the year 2019. The main reason for the decrease was the reduced water consumption in the energy sector, primarily due to the temporary shutdown of three nuclear power plants. The energy sector, which used the most water among all economic sectors, consumed a total of 6.59 billion cubic meters of water in 2022.
The processing industry, which came in second, used around 5.15 billion cubic meters of water, with the production of chemical products being a significant part of this, at 3.08 billion cubic meters, followed by metal production and processing at 0.61 billion cubic meters. Agriculture used around 0.48 billion cubic meters of water in 2022.
The majority of the water used by the companies, around 10.57 billion cubic meters, or 82.9%, was used for cooling purposes. An additional 1.76 billion cubic meters, or 13.8%, was used for the production of goods or by the workforce and the remaining 0.42 billion cubic meters, or 3.3%, was used for irrigation.
In 2022, around 10,500 companies extracted water from natural sources, with a total of 12.84 billion cubic meters of water being extracted. The majority of this water, around 9.72 billion cubic meters, or 75.6%, was taken from rivers, lakes, or reservoirs, while around 2.18 billion cubic meters, or 17%, was taken from groundwater resources and the remaining 0.94 billion cubic meters, or 7.4%, was from other water sources, according to the Federal Statistical Office.