Speaking at the launch of a new international investor conference aimed at drawing foreign capital into Germany, Reiche told the Financial Times that the decision by previous governments to phase out nuclear generation has eliminated any realistic alternative for reliable baseload electricity. "We need gas to secure our supply - that is the only baseload supply I have left," she said. "Politically speaking, I have no alternative."

Reiche, a senior figure in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union, made the remarks as fresh data highlighted the mounting costs of the nuclear exit, originally decided under Angela Merkel in 2011 and completed under Olaf Scholz. While the policy was accompanied by a massive push for renewables, it has left Germany more reliant on gas-fired power stations to keep the lights on when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.

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European gas prices have risen more than 60 per cent since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, delivering the continent's second major energy price crisis in under five years. Futures contracts for German electricity in May are trading at four times the level seen in France, Europe's biggest nuclear producer, according to the energy exchange EEX.

Reiche urged Germany to stop sitting on the sidelines of Europe's nuclear revival. France, Sweden and Poland are all either building new reactors or extending the life of existing ones, attracted by the technology's ability to deliver large volumes of low-carbon, dispatchable power. "We can decide that we are not interested. Then we stick to gas and become more dependent on one energy source," she said. "Or we can say that we are interested in technology again."

With Germany's renowned engineering expertise, Reiche argued the country should at minimum engage constructively in European nuclear projects and international forums. "Anyone standing on the sidelines simply commenting loses influence. You must be on the pitch if you want to play."

The vulnerability of Germany's gas strategy was brutally exposed after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine cut off pipeline supplies. Berlin was forced to pivot rapidly to liquefied natural gas, much of it from the United States, which now accounts for around 10 per cent of the country's gas supply. Energy costs have remained stubbornly high ever since. In the second half of 2025, gas prices for private households were 79 per cent above 2021 levels, while electricity prices rose 23 per cent, official statistics show.

The latest price spike is already hammering industry and derailing growth forecasts. A consortium of leading German economic institutes warned on Wednesday that the energy shock would erase more than half the GDP growth previously expected for 2026. The new projection is just 0.6 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent in September, with 2027 growth seen at 0.9 per cent.