CF strikes deal to keep CO₂ coming in the UK

CF Industries has reached an agreement with industrial gas customers and the UK government to continue operating its ammonia facility in Billingham, England, at least through January 2022. CF closed the plant last month in response to rising prices for natural gas, its main raw material. But CF ammonia plants also make 60% of the UK’s industrial-grade carbon dioxide as a by-product, and the closure threatened to create a shortage of the gas for applications that include food processing and drink carbonation. CF began reopening the Billingham plant Sept. 21, after the UK agreed to subsidize production for 3 weeks.