Carbon dioxide availability is tightening across the UK and parts of Europe, exposing breweries and soft drink producers to supply risks because CO₂ is essential for carbonation, packaging, oxygen removal, shelf-life protection and keg dispensing, reports FoodIngredientsFirst.
The pressure is linked to reduced ammonia and fertilizer production, where food-grade CO₂ is often captured as a byproduct. High natural gas prices, plant shutdowns and geopolitical tensions around Middle East shipping routes have increased uncertainty for beverage producers.
The UK government has backed the restart of the Ensus plant in Teesside for three months with GBP 100 million (USD 133.5 million), aiming to protect CO₂ supplies for food, drink, healthcare, water and other critical sectors. The plant had stopped production in autumn 2025 and was previously expected to close permanently.
Amy Elizabeth Abraham, associate director of research services and content development at Beroe, warned that UK beer supply faces a “significant risk” because constrained fertilizer output directly limits food-grade CO₂ availability. She said ammonia capacity becomes uneconomic when TTF gas prices rise above about EUR 60/MWh, a level that can quickly reduce CO₂ production.
The concern comes ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in June and July, when beer and soft drink demand is expected to rise. Brewers may face tighter allocations, higher spot prices and possible delays, especially because priority sectors such as healthcare could be restocked first after any disruption.
The vulnerability is not new. CO₂ shortages already disrupted food and beverage production in 2018 and returned during the 2022–2023 energy crisis. The latest situation again shows that Europe’s beverage sector remains structurally dependent on industrial byproduct streams rather than dedicated CO₂ production.
