EU countries are short of gunpowder and TNT to produce shells - Bloomberg
Europe does not produce enough gunpowder or explosives, which are necessary for the production of artillery shells.
According to Censor.NET, Bloomberg reports this.
European governments provided Ukraine with ammunition from their stockpiles. This led to their depletion. In particular, the continent is experiencing a shortage of gunpowder, TNT and other explosives and rocket fuel. Since then, Europeans have been trying to increase the production of artillery shells, missiles and bullets.
As Europe prepares for a significant increase in defence spending, a small number of producers of these materials intend to increase their capacity. Rheinmetall, for example, aims to increase its gunpowder output by more than 50% by 2028, but even this will not be enough. CEO Armin Papperger said the company may have to almost double its production to more than 20,000 tonnes to meet the demand.
Even before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, European Union members set a goal of producing two million artillery shells in 2025, up from 1.4 million last year. In the spring of 2023, the European Commission established the "Ammunition Support Act" (ASAP) programme, which allocates €500 million to expand the bloc's ammunition production capabilities.
"Since then, Trump’s administration temporarily suspended military aid to Ukraine, sowed doubt over the future of longstanding American security guarantees in Europe, and indicated a willingness to negotiate with the Kremlin despite the objections of the Ukrainian government and European allies. The continent’s need for munitions is only going to grow," the publication notes.
The European Union has offered €150 billion in loans to boost defence spending as part of its latest efforts to compensate for waning US support. The European Defence Industry Programme will provide a further €1.5 billion in EU funding to industry players from 2025 to 2027, but the European Commission's decision has not yet been approved by the European Parliament.
However, the supply chain that explosives manufacturers rely on is intricate, global and full of bottlenecks. Governments and manufacturers need to encourage the civilian chemical industry to switch to military production, simplify regulations to allow new plants to be built and dangerous goods to be transported across the continent, and even secure the supply of the most basic materials currently sourced from China.
The explosives supply is in a similar situation to propellants. The EU is planning to increase explosives production by more than 4,300 metric tonnes, an estimated increase of over 30%, but it currently only has one major TNT factory serving local production, run by the company Nitro-Chem in Poland, with another one to be built in Finland.
Makers of alternative agents, such as PETN, HMX and RDX, which are used in plastic explosives, are overwhelmed. Norwegian manufacturer Chemring Nobel has seen unparalleled demand since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company says that its Norwegian business has been running at full capacity, and its order book extends for a number of years.
"Just as explosives and propellants are a bottleneck for defense companies, manufacturers of gunpowder and TNT have to navigate their own supply chain constraints," Bloomberg notes.
Some European countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland, have a well-established chemicals industry, but explosives precursors only make up a small share of their capacity. High energy costs and environmental regulations make it cheaper to produce chemicals abroad, and many companies now source precursors, such as nitric acid, from China.
Experts emphasise that long-term markets and financing will be crucial if the supply chain problems are to be resolved. Thus, according to Amos Dossi, head of defence policy research at the ETH Zurich's Centre for Security Studies, the industry has received significant orders over the past two years, but it is unclear whether this momentum will continue.
The publication adds that reducing regulatory barriers, providing guarantees to companies and overcoming social and fiscal barriers in Europe to investment in arms and their components will be crucial to meeting the continent's needs, particularly as its biggest strategic threat, Russia, has few such restrictions.
