Evangelos Mytilineos, chairman and chief executive of Mytilineos Energy & Metals, warned Wednesday that Europe could face a severe natural gas shortage and soaring energy costs if the crisis in the Gulf and disruption risks around the Strait of Hormuz persist for months.
Speaking at the “Energy Transition Summit: East Med & Southeast Europe” in Athens, organized by the Financial Times in partnership with Kathimerini, Mytilineos said energy markets were underestimating the potential long-term consequences of the conflict.
“Every day that passes makes the situation more and more difficult,” Mytilineos said during an interview with Financial Times Europe editor Ben Hall.
The Greek industrialist said the conflict was having contradictory effects on his company, which is both a major energy producer and one of Greece’s largest industrial energy consumers through its aluminum operations.
On one hand, aluminum prices have surged because a significant share of global aluminum production is concentrated in Gulf countries where energy costs are low. On the other, rising natural gas prices have sharply increased operating costs.
“We’ve seen prices go up by about 40% to 50%,” he said of natural gas. “It’s pushing up our costs.”
Mytilineos said the company had hedged much of its gas exposure through 2027, partly due to concerns over delays in filling Europe’s gas storage facilities.
“For me, at the moment, this is the biggest danger for Europe,” he said. “We are late.”
He warned that if Asian demand increases and liquefied natural gas cargoes are redirected toward Asian markets, Europe may be forced to pay significantly higher prices for supplies ahead of winter.
Despite the tensions, Mytilineos said gas markets remained relatively calm because traders expect the Gulf crisis to end quickly.
“The markets are now betting for time,” he said, arguing investors believe US President Donald Trump, ahead of the midterm elections, will eventually declare the crisis resolved and restore stability to shipping routes.
Still, he said a prolonged disruption lasting several months remained “a possible scenario.”
Mytilineos said Europe has become heavily dependent on LNG imports from the United States following the reduction of Russian gas supplies, noting that eight out of every 10 LNG cargoes used by his company originate in the US.
Asked whether Europe risked replacing dependence on Russian gas with reliance on American suppliers, he described the issue as “a very heavy political question.”
“If the US ever uses gas as a tool vis-a-vis Europe or against Europe, then there are much bigger issues than gas,” he said.
On Europe’s energy transition, Mytilineos argued the current geopolitical instability could accelerate investment in renewable energy and storage technologies, though primarily for energy security rather than climate reasons.
“The new wave of the energy transition … is not for decarbonization,” he said. “It’s mostly for security of supply.”
He pointed to countries in Southeast Asia suffering prolonged power cuts because they can no longer afford imported gas.
“They now understand that they have to do something not to be dependent on anyone,” he said.
At the same time, Mytilineos cautioned that renewable energy alone cannot yet provide reliable around-the-clock power because battery technology remains insufficient for large-scale overnight storage.
“The $1 million question is what to do during nighttime,” he said.
He announced that his company would begin operating Greece’s largest battery storage facility next month, a 330-megawatt installation in central Greece, but noted that current systems still provide only limited-duration storage.
“Until technology gives us affordable six-, eight-, 10-hour batteries, we depend on fossil fuels for about half of the day,” he said.
Mytilineos also criticized what he described as an ideological approach within parts of the European Union toward decarbonization and heavy industry.
“We all believe in green energy. We all believe in decarbonization,” he said. “But this cannot happen next Monday. It’s impossible.”
Recalling a conversation with a European commissioner roughly a decade ago, he said industrial companies had long felt unwelcome in Europe’s policy direction.
“She told me, ‘That’s exactly what you wanted to do – get out of here. Europe is entering a different phase. We do not need your heavy industries anymore,’” he said.
The executive also questioned the EU’s plan to phase out Russian gas imports entirely by the end of the decade, warning Europe could face difficult choices if the Gulf conflict drags on while gas storage remains low.
“If we get six months from now with a storage problem, what do we do?” he said. “And how do we go back to Russia and ask for gas?”
On nuclear energy, Mytilineos said small modular reactors – a prospect already publicly embraced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – could eventually help provide stable low-carbon electricity during periods when renewable generation is insufficient, though he said the technology was not yet commercially or operationally mature.
“In principle, I do not object,” he said. “I would be interested … to participate in a project like this, but maybe it’s a little early yet.”