Renergen, a natural gas producer, has announced that the first batch of liquid helium has been generated at the South African-based Virginia Gas Project.
The Virginia Gas Project is the sole onshore oil and gas facility in South Africa, and it is owned and run by Tetra4, a subsidiary of Renergen.
Welkom, Virginia, and Theunissen are all included in the territory that it covers. The helium deposit at the location, according to Renergen’s estimation, may be as huge as 9.74 billion cubic meters, surpassing the known reserves of the entire United States.
The bulk liquid helium market is anticipated to be valued at $2.7 billion, according to Transparency Market Research, a global market analysis company.
Liquid helium is used to cool materials to extremely low temperatures. It is also utilized as a coolant in some nuclear reactors, as well as aerospace (SpaceX and NASA), cryogenic research, and other applications. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, and inflammable.
Additionally, it is utilized in particle accelerators, MRI machine magnets, and other scientific machinery.
According to Stefano Marani, CEO of Renergen, South Africa is now one of eight nations in the world that manufacture the rare and valuable liquid.
The company said that its helium module is already operational and being optimized, making it the newest producer of liquid helium in the world.
The company reported in December that its Virginia Gas Project was proceeding well but that the commission had lagged behind schedule because of a leak in the vacuum walls of the helium system pipes.
The leak was discovered and fixed in December, as noted by DailyInvestor, allowing the business to move on to the last phase of commissioning, which involved the integration of the helium compressor.
On the news, Renergen’s share price increased by almost 9%.
Source: BusinessTech
