Industrial gas major Air Liquide has partnered with Australian agribusiness Manildra Group to build Australia’s largest new food and beverage-grade biogenic CO2 plant in Bomaderry, New South Wales.
Once operational in 2027, the plant will produce over 90,000 tonnes of CO2 annually for local industry. Air Liquide will start building the facility in the second half of the year.
The plant will capture and purify the biogenic CO₂ produced naturally from the fermentation of wheat at Manildra Group’s Shoalhaven Starches site.
Tim Kehoe, Managing Director of Air Liquide Pacific, said the plant would address the critical need for increased supply and improved reliability in the CO2 market.
“Air Liquide’s new CO2 plant will boost local CO2 supply … supporting the growth needs of Australian industries,” he added.
In February 2024, Australia and New Zealand were hit by CO2 shortages. At the time, local suppliers prioritised critical industries, including medical, safety, and water treatment customers, but food and beverage markets struggled.
According to CO2 View, Australia currently produced 597 tonnes a day of merchant CO2.
Food-grade CO2 from biogenic sources is safe and environmentally friendly, though wariness about purity and quality persists in some quarters. However, with the right technology on the market today, biogenic CO2 is now a growing source for the food and beverage market.
Speaking at gasworld’s North American CO2 Summit 2024 in Nashville, Dr Sieg Mueller, CEO of Analytical Science & Technologies Group (ASTG), emphasised the need for advanced CO2 purity testing for beverage companies.
“Testing teams need to identify blind spots and conduct hazard analysis about what impurities are reasonably likely to be found from a particular CO2 source and, off the back of that work, establish appropriate methodologies,” he said.
“Staying ahead of the challenges around CO2 purity is something worth doing.”
