UK reopens domestic CO2 plant as Iran war threatens supply

Britain said on Thursday it would provide 100 million pounds ($133.5 million) to restart production of biogenic carbon dioxide at a shuttered plant ​on Teesside for three months to avert any shortages caused by ‌the Iran war.

CO2 was manufactured by Ensus as a byproduct of bioethanol at the Wilton International site until September, when the plant was unable to compete with lower-cost U.S. ​bioethanol imports after tariffs were cut in a deal agreed with ​U.S. President Donald Trump.

The gas is vital in food and ⁠drinks manufacturing, and has many other uses across the economy from operating ​theatres in hospitals to cooling nuclear reactors.

The government said disruptions to European fertiliser ​production had significantly reduced the reliability of CO2 imports, and rising gas prices driven by the Iran conflict, plus unplanned maintenance at several European CO2 producing sites, meant that British ​supply was at risk.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the government was acting ​to protect British businesses from the worst impacts of global uncertainty.

“By restarting this plant we’ve ‌acted ⁠swiftly to boost the resilience of our supply chains and protect critical UK sectors like food production, water and healthcare, as well as the jobs and communities that depend on these industries,” he said.

Ensus UK Chairman Grant Pearson ​said the agreement ​strengthened Britain’s resilience ⁠in biogenic CO2 supplies.

“We hope to have the plant back in full operation soon,” he said.

Ensus, which has had ​operations on Teesside in northeast England, since 2010, is owned ​by ⁠CropEnergies, part of Sudzucker Group.

The plant uses distillation and fermentation to convert more than 1 million tonnes of wheat a year into 400 million litres of bioethanol, ⁠which ​is used to make petrol more sustainable.

The process ​has two by-products: high protein animal feed and carbon dioxide, with a capacity for the latter ​of 250,000 tonnes annually.

($1 = 0.7490 pounds)