On December 3, 2025, RefineTek and a top-tier international LNG production group jointly launched an integrated LNG BOG re-liquefaction and He/H₂ extraction project at RefineTek’s Ningbo subsidiary. This marks a milestone in the strategic partnership between the two parties and a key step for China’s advanced materials technology on the world stage.
The project represents a total investment of over USD 35 million and will build the first large-scale industrial alloy-based natural gas He/H₂ extraction facility outside China. This is more than a partnership — it reshapes the global model for helium resource development.
Helium is scarce and costly to extract from natural gas systems, but the BOG (boil-off gas) generated by vaporizing LNG storage tanks can concentrate helium by 10 to 50 times — making BOG-based helium extraction the most economical and strategically significant technology path.
Starting from materials, built on equipment, and delivered as a complete system, RefineTek has innovatively developed a technology platform that offers:
✔ Lower energy consumption
✔ A shorter process
✔ Intrinsic safety
✔ Dual recovery of helium and hydrogen.
At its core is RefineTek’s proprietary hydrogen-absorbing alloy material, combined with membrane separation and pressure swing adsorption, enabling precise capture of helium resources and parallel utilization of hydrogen resources — extracting high-purity helium from the tail gas, then liquefying the remaining methane back into LNG. It delivers both technical and economic value.
Helium is known as "the coolant of technological civilization." It is found —
• In MRI diagnostics
• Inside rocket engines
• In chip fabrication cleanrooms
• In quantum computing labs
• In cutting-edge and frontier science
...invisible, yet everywhere.
During the visit, the international customer expressed strong recognition of RefineTek’s helium-hydrogen separation technology, along with keen interest in RefineTek’s cost-effective hydrogen production, safe hydrogen storage and transport, and hydrogen utilization businesses. Both parties are now engaged in in-depth discussions on broader areas of cooperation.
This step means:
China’s advanced materials technology and equipment capabilities are moving into core global energy scenarios;
RefineTek is using technology to maximize resource value;
The Belt and Road strategy is turning from a concept into concrete results.
