German industrial energy consumption fell significantly last year, in part due to decreased production in energy-intensive sectors, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Monday. Consumption dropped by 7.8% to 3,282 petajoules in 2023. The previous year, industrial energy consumption had fallen by 9.1% already. “The decline in industrial energy consumption was directly linked to falling production in 2023. Energy-intensive sectors were particularly affected, with production falling by 11.2%,” the statistical office stated. The most widely used industrial energy source remained natural gas,…