The price of industrial and food-grade carbon dioxide (CO2) has skyrocketed sharply in August 2026, hitting a new market high. The spot price increased by 114.66% in 30 days, bringing huge cost pressure on downstream manufacturing enterprises.

The price of industrial and food-grade carbon dioxide (CO2) has skyrocketed sharply in August 2026, hitting a new market high. The spot price increased by 114.66% in 30 days, bringing huge cost pressure on downstream manufacturing enterprises. As an essential and eco-friendly industrial gas, CO2 is widely applied in multiple scenarios, including beverage and food processing, fresh food modified atmosphere packaging, cold chain dry ice transportation, rubber cryogenic deflashing, and semiconductor precision manufacturing. The drastic price surge results from the superposition of supply shortage, booming market demand, rising production costs and unreasonable gas supply structures.

Shrinking upstream supply is the primary cause of the CO2 price hike. Industrial CO2 is mainly recycled as a by-product from petrochemical and coal chemical plants. In 2026, most upstream production facilities underwent regular maintenance and environmental upgrades with reduced operating rates, leading to a sharp drop in CO2 output. In addition, high-purity CO2 for semiconductor manufacturing is in short supply globally. Overseas bulk purchasing further tightens domestic inventory, and suppliers continue to implement quota supply policies.

Multi-industry demand explosion widens the market supply gap. Summer is the peak season for food and beverage production, driving massive demand for food-grade CO2 for carbonated drinks, beer and fresh-keeping packaging. Meanwhile, industrial demand keeps growing steadily, covering rubber low-temperature deflashing, powder cryogenic crushing, and semiconductor wafer processing. The superposition of food industry peak demand and industrial rigid demand completely breaks the original supply-demand balance.

Rising comprehensive costs further push up CO2 market prices. CO2 purification, liquefaction and storage are energy-intensive processes. Fluctuating and rising energy prices have greatly increased basic production costs. Moreover, tightening carbon quota policies raise carbon emission costs, while high-temperature weather restricts cross-regional logistics and drives up transportation fees. Continuous cost transmission leads to a sustained increase in terminal CO2 prices.

Backward gas supply modes aggravate the supply-demand mismatch. Most small and medium-sized factories still rely on traditional cylinder gas supply, which cannot meet continuous and large-scale production needs. Low penetration of CO2 cryogenic tank centralized gas supply systems makes it impossible to flexibly allocate gas sources, amplifying market supply and demand contradictions.

To cope with volatile CO2 prices, upgrading to a centralized cryogenic tank gas supply system is the most effective solution. It features low evaporation loss, 24-hour stable gas supply and lower long-term operating costs, helping global manufacturers avoid price fluctuation risks and achieve standardized and efficient gas supply management.