Carbon dioxide makes up roughly 0.04% of the atmosphere, so it seems strange that industries can run out of it. But the CO₂ used in food packaging, carbonated drinks, and cold storage doesn’t come from the air — it comes from factories. And when those factories slow down, supply can disappear fast.
This article explains why industrial CO₂ shortages happen, which industries get hit hardest, why they tend to be regional, and what long-term fixes are being developed.
Industrial CO₂ Is a Byproduct, Not a Dedicated Product
Most people assume CO₂ is produced on its own. It isn’t. Most industrial CO₂ is captured as a byproduct of other processes — mainly ammonia production, fertilizer manufacturing, and ethanol refining.
This is the root of the problem. If those primary processes become unprofitable or a plant shuts down, CO₂ output drops too — even if demand for CO₂ stays exactly the same.
A simple way to think about it: imagine a factory that generates electricity as a side effect of its main operation. If the factory stops running, the electricity stops too — even though the grid still needs it. CO₂ works the same way.
It’s also important to be clear about one thing. This has nothing to do with atmospheric CO₂ levels or climate change. Industrial CO₂ shortages are purely a supply-chain issue. The CO₂ in the atmosphere and the CO₂ in your soda can come from completely different sources.
What Actually Triggers a Shortage
No single cause creates a CO₂ shortage. It’s usually a combination of factors hitting at once.
- Plant maintenance shutdowns: Facilities that produce ammonia or fertilizer go offline regularly for scheduled maintenance. If several plants shut down at the same time, a large chunk of regional CO₂ supply vanishes quickly.
- High energy prices: When wholesale gas prices rise, fertilizer production becomes less profitable. Plants cut output or close temporarily. Less fertilizer production means less CO₂ captured as a byproduct.
- Contamination issues: If contaminants are found in the raw gas supply, facilities may have to stop accepting it entirely until the problem is resolved.
- Demand spikes: Summer heat drives up demand for CO₂ in food and beverages — often at the exact same time plants are doing scheduled maintenance. That timing mismatch can strain supply quickly.
- Logistics disruptions: Pandemic-related supply chain problems and transport issues can compound any existing shortage, making distribution slower and less reliable.
The UK shortage that made headlines is a clear example. High wholesale gas prices made fertilizer production less economical, which cut food-grade CO₂ output sharply. Food processors and supermarkets felt the impact almost immediately.
Which Industries Feel It First
Food and beverage is the most visible sector when CO₂ runs short. CO₂ is used across almost every part of food production — carbonating drinks, modified-atmosphere packaging to extend shelf life, chilling products, and even stunning animals before slaughter.
When the UK faced a shortage after fertilizer plants cut output, the effects showed up quickly across poultry, pork, frozen goods, and bakery packaging. Supermarket shelves started showing gaps. Bottlers had to reduce output or prioritize certain products over others.
During one shortage period in the United States, many industrial CO₂ users were reportedly receiving only 30–50% of their normal supply. That kind of shortfall forces difficult decisions — slow production, cut product lines, or pay much higher prices to secure what’s available.
Beyond food and drink, CO₂ is used across a wider range of industries than most people realize:
- Medical applications and pharmaceuticals
- Water treatment facilities
- Enhanced oil recovery
- Manufacturing and welding
- Construction
Food and beverage tends to feel shortages first because demand is constant and the supply requirements are strict — food-grade CO₂ has to meet purity standards that not every source can meet.
Why Shortages Stay Regional Even When CO₂ Exists Elsewhere
One reasonable question is: if CO₂ is available somewhere else, why can’t it just be shipped over? The answer comes down to infrastructure.
CO₂ requires specialized transport — pressurized tankers, careful handling, and strict purity standards for food-grade use. You can’t simply redirect supply across long distances without the right equipment, certified carriers, and existing logistics networks in place.
Think of it like a regional water pipeline. Even if there’s plenty of water in a neighboring state, you can’t just pipe it over without the infrastructure connecting the two systems. CO₂ distribution works similarly.
This is why shortages tend to be reported as country or region-specific events. The UK shortage was a UK problem. The US Southeast shortage was largely confined to that region. These aren’t global crises — they’re localized supply gaps that can persist even when the total global supply looks adequate on paper.
Why Prices Spike and Recovery Takes Time
When supply drops and demand stays steady, prices go up. That’s straightforward. But the scale of price swings during CO₂ shortages can be surprising.
During the UK shortage, a temporary government-backed deal to restart production reportedly involved CO₂ prices jumping from around £200 per tonne to £1,000 per tonne. That’s a fivefold increase to secure emergency supply.
Recovery also doesn’t happen overnight. Even after a plant comes back online, it can take around 48 hours for new CO₂ to reach the market. And that’s just the restart — clearing the backlog of unfilled orders from customers who were short-supplied takes considerably longer.
Small and mid-sized food businesses often absorb the worst of it. Larger buyers with long-term contracts have some protection. Smaller operations buying on the spot market can face both higher prices and actual unavailability at the same time.
What Long-Term Fixes Look Like
The core problem is that industrial CO₂ supply is tied to the economics of other industries. If fertilizer producers aren’t making money, CO₂ supply shrinks — regardless of what food processors or drink manufacturers actually need.
There are a few approaches being developed to reduce that dependency:
Direct Air Capture
This technology pulls CO₂ directly from the atmosphere rather than capturing it as a byproduct. It acts as a new, independent tap for CO₂ supply that doesn’t rely on fertilizer or ethanol plants staying profitable. It’s still developing and not yet a large-scale replacement, but it removes the dependency on other industries entirely.
Carbon Capture from Industrial Sources
CO₂ can also be captured from power plants, cement factories, and other large emitters. Scaling this up could create a more stable supply that isn’t tied to any single industry’s output.
Better Storage and Distribution
Investing in larger storage capacity and more flexible distribution networks would help regions buffer against short-term plant outages. Right now, many regions have very little cushion — when supply drops, the gap is felt almost immediately.
Diversifying Supply Sources
Reducing reliance on a small number of large byproduct plants would make supply less fragile. If a region has multiple independent sources of CO₂, a single plant shutdown has less impact on the whole network.
For broader context on how industrial supply chains create these kinds of vulnerabilities, Weekline Business covers the business side of supply chain and market issues in plain language.
The Bottom Line
CO₂ shortages happen because industrial supply is a byproduct of other processes — and those processes don’t always run consistently. When fertilizer plants go offline, energy prices spike, or maintenance schedules overlap with peak demand, supply can tighten fast.
The industries that feel it most are the ones that depend on CO₂ every day: food processors, drink manufacturers, and cold-chain operations. And because CO₂ can’t easily be redirected across regions, a shortage in one area can persist even when supply is adequate elsewhere.
The structural fix involves building CO₂ supply that doesn’t depend entirely on what other industries are doing — through direct air capture, carbon capture, and better storage. Until those alternatives scale up, the current supply chain will remain fragile whenever conditions align in the wrong direction.
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