Chris Ormond, from Giant Brewery in Havelock North, with a CO2 cylinder. Photo / Paul Taylor
Chris Ormond, from Giant Brewery in Havelock North, with a CO2 cylinder. Photo / Paul Taylor
A CO2 gas shortage hitting New Zealand has been labelled a “disaster” by Hawke’s Bay businesses, including beer manufacturers who rely on the resource.
It comes as the price of CO2 is skyrocketing with one company reporting the price of bulk liquid CO2 has jumped from 68c/kg to $4.30/kg inthe past 12 months.
The gas is used to carbonate or put the fizz into beverages such as soft drinks and beer but is also used in other industries such as food production and packaging, animal slaughter, and even hospitals and construction.
Beer makers doubly rely on it to keep oxygen off their precious product including by using CO2 gas to move or flush beer out of tanks and package their drinks.
There is currently only one plant in New Zealand which produces food-grade CO2, the Kapuni gas plant in Taranaki, and it has been shut for about three weeks for urgent maintenance.
General manager Andrew Condon said the latest closure at Kapuni had been “a disaster”.
He said CO2 gas was being rationed by supplier BOC to businesses, and as a result his company was only producing about half the beer it would otherwise make.
Each month, that means it is missing out on producing more than 200,000 litres of beer.
Chris Barber from Zeelandt Brewery, near Napier, is trying to look at the possible positives during the commercial shortage of CO2. Photo / NZME
He said the CO2 shortages were impacting many industries not just breweries.
“This includes anyone who uses CO2 which is many food producers including meat and poultry and also cheese and dairy plants, as well as construction with concrete.
“So this is not trivial ... it’s serious, it’s dire and it’s for quite some time to come yet.”
He claimed the price of delivered bulk liquid CO2 had risen from 68c/kg in January 2022 to $4.30/kg. That included a big jump from $1.86/kg in December.
Nitrogen can be used as an alternative for some tasks in breweries, and bStudio does use that resource.
However, CO2 is still a vital resource and can not be replaced for much of the work.
Hawke’s Bay Hospital also uses CO2 gas but a spokeswoman said hospitals were “low users”.
“We monitor supply as part of standard practice. Our supplier prioritises supply for critical services.”
At Giant Brewing in Havelock North, founder Chris Ormond said the supply issues were a concern.
“If the problem gets any worse it will start affecting business and stiffen the amount of beer that we can make.”
He said he had already experienced delays in getting CO2.
He said it was not only used for carbonating beer but “everything you do around breweries involves CO2″.
For example, he said it was used to move beer between tanks and to protect it from oxygen.
“Simply put, oxygen ruins beer. If oxygen gets into beer, even a tiny amount, it just ruins it.”
A spokesperson for CO2 supplier BOC said it was “working closely with its global supply chain to secure more CO2 supplies” and it had adjusted pricing this week.
“Importing additional product comes at a significant cost factoring in production, storage and shipping fees.
“BOC has already invested significant resources and capital to establish an import supply chain since the closure of the Marsden Point refinery in 2022.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to absorb the significant costs associated with importing additional CO2 and therefore notified customers of a pricing adjustment across all CO2 products this week.”
Zeelandt Brewery head brewer and managing director Chris Barber said he received a CO2 delivery on Thursday, but said the shortages could potentially be a good thing if meant supplies carried lower oxygen levels, which is ideal for brewing beer.
