New Zealand To Ration CO2 Production Due To Shortages

New Zealand’s carbon dioxide (CO2) supplies used to fizz drinks, packaging, and hospitals will be rationed due to shortages following the closure of the country’s only food-grade CO2 production facility.

Industrial gas producer BOC said it wants to prioritize CO2 supplies to critical medical, safety, and water customers.

“We are working collaboratively with suppliers, customers, and other industry stakeholders to manage the CO2 supply situation,” BOC said.

The rationing was due to the shutdown of Todd Energy, the CO2 production facility on the North Island. It had to close down while a plant safety issue was investigated.

“The safe operation of the plant is our priority. Unfortunately, that means the plant is temporarily closed while we work through engineering solutions,” Todd Energy chief executive Mark Macfarlane said.

According to Statistics New Zealand data, CO2 imports almost tripled last year due to the scarcity of CO2 supplies after the country’s other plant closed even before the facility was shut down.

Brewers Association executive director Dylan Firth said the industry was worth around NZ$2.8 billion ($1.8 billion) annually and needed to be rationed for some time. He said smaller brewers had limited stocks of CO2, and some were expecting to stop production if the supply issues weren’t resolved.

Steam Brewing managing director Steve Kermode said it was facing cost increases for CO2 imports that it couldn’t pass onto customers and had to shut down production several times due to the shortages.

“This is an absolute nightmare,” he said. Stream Brewing, a contract craft beer brewing company, is investing in new technology to capture CO2 produced in the brewing process so it can be reused. However, this will only produce around 25% of the CO2 the company usually uses.

Source: Inquirer.net