UK injects £100 million to avert CO2 crisis as Iran war disrupts supply

The United Kingdom will invest £100 million (about $133.5 million) to temporarily restart biogenic carbon dioxide production at a shuttered plant in Teesside, aiming to prevent a supply shortage triggered by disruptions linked to the conflict involving Iran, according to Reuters.

The facility, operated by Ensus at the Wilton International site, had produced CO2 as a byproduct of bioethanol manufacturing until September. However, following tariff reductions under an agreement with US President Donald Trump, the plant was no longer able to compete with cheaper bioethanol imports from the United States, leading to its closure.

Carbon dioxide is essential for a wide range of industries, particularly food and beverage production, and is also used in applications from hospital operating theatres to the cooling of nuclear reactors.

The UK government said supply risks have intensified due to disruptions in fertiliser production across Europe, which have undermined the reliability of CO2 imports. At the same time, rising gas prices linked to the conflict with Iran and unplanned maintenance at several European CO2 facilities have further strained supply.

Peter Kyle said the government is acting to shield businesses from the most severe impacts of global volatility.

“By restarting this plant, we have acted quickly to strengthen the resilience of our supply chains and protect critical UK industries such as food production, water supply and healthcare, as well as the jobs and communities that depend on them,” he said.

Grant Pearson said the agreement would improve the country’s resilience to disruptions in biogenic CO2 supply.

“We hope the plant will soon return to full operation,” he said.

Ensus, which has operated in Teesside in northeast England since 2010, is owned by CropEnergies, part of the Südzucker Group.

The plant processes more than 1 million tonnes of wheat annually using distillation and fermentation to produce around 400 million litres of bioethanol, used to make petrol more environmentally sustainable. The process also generates two byproducts: high-protein animal feed and approximately 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

By Tamilla Hasanova