UK hospitals and food producers face CO₂ shortages as plant halts production
The government has urged CO2 producers “to do everything they can” to meet food and drink industry demand, after one of the UK’s largest suppliers confirmed it was going to pause production at a key factory.
CF Industries, the private US company that accounts for 60% of the UK’s CO2 supplies, said soaring energy prices meant it would have to “temporarily halt” production at its remaining UK ammonia plant, which creates the gas as a byproduct.
The plant in Billingham, Teesside, is essential to industries ranging from beer to meat to fizzy drinks.
CF Industries said the shutdown was the result of tough market conditions, noting that current prices for natural gas used in the process were “uneconomical” after rising to twice the level they were a year ago. It expects prices to continue rising in the months ahead.
Meat processors, brewers, bakers, farmers and soft drink producers all use CO2 in producing their goods and packaging them in inert gas to keep them fresh. It is also required for the stunning before slaughter of animals including pigs and chickens, and is used by hospitals and nuclear power plants.
The UK last suffered a crisis in CO2 last September, when high energy prices combined with annual maintenance shutdowns brought UK production to a near halt. The government was forced to use taxpayer money to fund a three-week bailout for CF Industries to stave off supply chain chaos, before brokering an emergency deal with the supplier.
The government is now urging the industry to do more to meet demand. “Since last autumn, the CO₂ market’s resilience has improved, with additional imports, further production from existing domestic sources and better stockpiles,” a government spokesperson said.
“While the government continues
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