A lifeline has been thrown to the UK’s food and drink sector after supplies of carbon dioxide (CO2) were secured until early next year.
CF Industries’ Billingham Complex in Stockton-on-Tees will continue to operate through at least January 2022 after its UK subsidiary reached CO2 pricing and offtake agreements with its industrial gas customers in the country.
The agreements between the UK subsidiary and its industrial gas customers run through the end of January 2022.
During this period, it is expected that the UK government and industrial gas customers will develop robust alternative sources of CO2 as part of a long-term solution for meeting demand in the country.
The Billingham Complex is capable of producing 750 tonnes of CO2 per day for commercial use as a by-product of the ammonia production process. The gas is vita in the beer, soft drinks and meat industries.
“We are pleased to have reached a commercial solution that enables the Billingham Complex to continue to operate through January, alleviating near-term CO2 supply concerns in the UK,” said Tony Will, President and CEO, CF Industries Holdings.
“We want to thank The Honorable Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, his staff and our industrial gas customers for the speed and spirit of cooperation that have marked our discussions over the past three weeks.
“We look forward to working with them in the future as they develop a longer-term solution to CO2 supply and to support sustainable and competitive UK ammonia and fertilizer production.”
CF Industries’ Ince Complex in Chester, UK, will remain offline, it said. The company does not have an estimate for when production will resume at the facility.
