The government has announced the Ensus plant will operate for three months to help shore up critical supplies of CO2.
The plant ceased production in Autumn 2025 and was set to close permanently; however, following intervention by the Government, the company agreed to keep it on standby to provide resilience for critical sectors.
The government has concerns over the UK being undersupplied. Disruptions to European fertiliser production — combined with difficult market conditions — have significantly reduced the reliability of CO2. In addition, rising gas prices driven by the Iran conflict, plus unplanned maintenance at several European CO2-producing sites, threaten reliable supples.
Given the potential impact of a shortage on essential UK sectors, including healthcare, nuclear and food and drink production, the Government has taken the decision to back the restart of activity at Ensus to safeguard critical national infrastructure and maintain a resilient supply of CO2.
AHDB senior analyst Helen Plant welcomes the news but says the impact on markets is unclear. “This could benefit UK cereals demand, though we don’t know when or for how long. The initial announcement is only for a three-month period.
“When fully operational, the plant used to require around 1m tonnes of feed wheat a year but there is no mandate that this has to be sourced from the UK.”
