A worker pours a copper alloy bar in a melting furnace at the MPG (Mendener Präzisionsrohr GmbH) tubes plant in Menden, western Germany, on June 18, 2026. MPG Tubes, fairly typical among "Mittelstand" small- and medium-sized businesses in Europe's top economy, faces a huge challenge to heat metal to 1,500C without producing any of the key greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Its foundry is partially electrified but still uses two gas-fired furnaces to reach the temperatures needed to create tubes with a perfectly smooth finish, used in areas including construction of power plants, the automotive industry and shipbuilding. (Photo by SASCHA SCHUERMANN / AFP via Getty Images)