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1 hour ago 3 min read
The UK government has launched a , with the deadline approaching in just over two weeks (20 August), inviting industry stakeholders to provide views on how the resilience of the domestic carbon dioxide (CO2) supply chain can be strengthened amid global market shocks.
In previous years, CO2 supply shortages have repeatedly caught the UK market off guard. Whether driven by ammonia plant outages, energy price shocks, or structural supply tightness, the historic pattern is reactive: disruption occurs, supply chains scramble, and policymakers respond under pressure.
Government intervention follows several major supply disruptions, including the high-profile CO2 shortages in summer 2018, periods of shortage in 2021, in addition to market disruption brought on by the Middle East crisis .
In April, UK ministers moved to mitigate supply risks by supporting the restart of the Ensus bioethanol plant in Wilton, Teesside, helping to safeguard CO2 supplies for critical national infrastructure (CNI) needs.
As a result of supply chain fragility, the government will now assess market-led options to diversify CO2 supply and improve transparency across the value chain in preparation for future CO2 market disruption.
The call is open to industry, trade associations, consumer groups, academia, and other stakeholders. Responses are due by 20 August 2026, giving respondents a two-week submission window.
The scope includes the domestic supply chain resilience of European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA) and International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT) certified food and medical grade CO2 used in important sectors, including CNI.
One of the key challenges for CO2 supply is the UK’s reliance on imports for key resources, intensified by an over-reliance on a small number of high-volume producers in the UK and Europe.
Additionally, CO2 is often produced as a by-product of other industrial processes, such as ammonia and fertiliser production, which leaves the CO2 market vulnerable to seasonal shortages.
Demand typically during the summer in the food and beverage industry, just as ammonia and bioethanol plants – key producers of by-product CO2 – scale back for maintenance, having already met the winter-driven demand for fertiliser and fuel.
Together, these factors leave the UK’s CO2 supply exposed to global market shocks, creating strategic risks for CNI sectors, such as agrifood, water, healthcare, nuclear, and chemicals.
gasworld data shows confidence in European CO2 supply security decreased by 8% between October 2025 to February 2026, reflecting structural vulnerabilities in the market.
Amid geopolitical instability in the Middle East, market confidence weakened by early April, with just 26% of respondents expressing confidence in security supply, compared to concern levels of 40%.
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