FullCryo Natural Gas Helium Recovery Project Successfully Commissioned

Recently, SinoScience FullCryo Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fullcryo") successfully delivered and commissioned a liquefied natural gas BOG Helium Recovery unit for Inner Mongolia Tianyu Garden New Energy Co., Ltd. The unit produces high-purity helium gas exceeding 99.999% purity and has maintained stable operation for over 600 hours. All helium recovery equipment units within the installation are integrated into skid-mounted modules featuring vacuum cold box design. This configuration not only ensures a compact overall structure with minimal footprint but also substantially reduces power consumption while delivering high operational stability.

Fullcryo's independently developed LNG-BOG cryogenic helium recovery unit employs cryogenic separation methods to purify helium. The BOG helium recovery process comprises a feed gas metering unit with flow stabilisation system, catalytic dehydrogenation/dehydration system, crude helium extraction system, cryogenic purification system, and helium filling system. Helium-bearing feed gas undergoes pressure regulation and flow stabilisation before entering the catalytic dehydrogenation/dehydration system to remove hydrogen. The dehydrogenated gas then passes through the crude helium extraction system, yielding crude helium with approximately 95% purity. Subsequent deep purification of impurities via a medium-pressure cryogenic adsorption purification system ultimately produces 5N high-purity helium meeting national standards. This facility was independently developed and integrated by Fullcryo. Upon commissioning, it is projected to achieve an annual production capacity of 166,500 cubic metres of high-purity helium gas.

Helium has long played a pivotal role in the development of high-end industries such as healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, superconducting power, and quantum technology, establishing itself as an indispensable strategic resource for China. However, over the past century, the nation has been entirely reliant on imported helium. Commencing in 2018, Fullcryo, in collaboration with the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pioneered the domestic proposal and experimentation of helium extraction technology from liquefied natural gas. In 2020, the company successfully developed China's first LNG-BOG helium recovery unit, which passed technical appraisal by academician-level experts. Commercial demonstration operations commenced in Yanchi, Ningxia, igniting a domestic helium recovery boom from natural gas. Subsequently, Fullcryo maintained its momentum: in 2021, it facilitated the successful commissioning of China's largest integrated helium-Liquid Helium production project from natural gas; and in 2023 achieved the successful commissioning of China's first industrial-scale helium recovery project from ammonia synthesis off-gas. To date, the company has supplied over ten BOG helium recovery systems to domestic LNG plants, with an anticipated production capacity exceeding 2 million cubic metres, thereby contributing to the nation's strategic self-sufficiency in helium resources.

Leveraging its product development capabilities and industry application experience in large-scale hydrogen-helium cryogenic equipment, Fullcryo has established an integrated helium resource industrial layout encompassing natural gas helium extraction, recovery, purification, liquefaction, helium packaging, and application. This initiative not only breaks foreign technological monopolies and achieves domestic self-sufficiency in helium supply, thereby reducing China's long-term reliance on imports, but also pioneers a commercial helium extraction pathway tailored to China's national conditions. It holds significant social benefits and market value. Moving forward, Fullcryo will continue to deepen its expertise in helium extraction, providing crucial support for China's independent helium supply and the development of related industries.

With advances in domestic helium extraction technology and industrial development, China's reliance on imported helium has gradually diminished, falling from 95% to 85% over the past decade. By the end of 2024, China's total helium production capacity had surpassed 10 million cubic metres per annum, representing a nearly 40% increase from the previous year. The global competition for helium resources fundamentally represents a contest between resource control and technological prowess. Through its core strategy of resource development and technological breakthroughs, China is participating in reshaping the global helium supply chain transformation. This will inevitably accelerate the rapid development of emerging fields such as fusion energy and quantum technology worldwide.