Manufacturers across Europe, from a Shropshire aluminium plant to steel firms in Hamburg, are facing a severe energy crisis this winter after wholesale gas prices doubled in two months. The surge follows renewed fighting between the US and Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for a fifth of the world's oil and gas. This has left industrial firms, already weakened by years of Brexit, Covid and previous energy shocks, weighing job cuts, shutdowns and rescheduled maintenance to survive rising costs.

British wholesale gas prices hit 205p per therm this week, the highest since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and up from 78p at the end of February. Europe enters winter with gas storage around 67% full, well below the usual 80% seasonal average, with Germany only about half full and both Germany and the Netherlands likely to miss their storage targets. Bridgnorth Aluminium, employing 370 people, now spends roughly £1.1m a month on energy, 18% of its costs, and is considering a longer Christmas break or bringing forward maintenance to cut output during peak pricing; separately, the Item Club has forecast Britain could lose 163,000 jobs in 2026 because of the crisis, concentrated in manufacturing regions such as south Wales and the Humber.