Natural gas and helium producer Renergen’s share price increased by 40.5% on March 14 after announcing the start of commercial sales of liquid helium.

This follows the company having faced several challenges with cooling to the extreme temperatures needed for liquid helium storage.

Renergen has implemented an effective alternate solution to reach cooling levels of -269 ˚C and will now regularly fill smaller Dewards – between 250 and 500 litres – with liquid helium.

“This practical approach will continue until our plant reaches near nameplate capacity,” CEO Stefano Marani confirms. The company’s production site, the Virginia gas project, is situated in the Free State.

With the first liquid helium being collected by a customer on March 14, Renergen has assured that the quality of both its liquid helium and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which it also produces at Virginia, exceeds minimum design specifications.

The company deems the first commercial sale of product as a concrete step toward rebuilding trust with customers after needing to overcome technical challenges. 

Marani adds that the successful management of cryogenic liquid at -269 ˚C is a remarkable accomplishment achieved by very few companies worldwide. The company now turns its focus to consistent delivery of product as it continues to advance the Virginia project.

Liquid helium is typically used as a cryogenic refrigerant to cool down superconducting magnets in applications such as magnetic resonance imaging systems.

The Virginia project marks South Africa’s first commercial LNG facility and sub-Saharan Africa’s first liquid helium plant.

The source of the Virginia gas project’s natural gas is primarily microbial. It originates from deep within the Witwatersrand Supergroup via groundwater circulating through large faults and contacting bacteria deep within the earth’s crust.

This means the methane is biogenic and a continuing renewable resource. Its natural gas contains one of the richest helium concentrations recorded globally.

Renergen previously estimated that the project can generate between R5.7-billion and R6.2-billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation once the Phase 1 and 2 plants are in full production.

The Phase 1 pilot plant is designed to produce a maximum of 2 700 GJ of LNG and about 350 kg of liquid helium a day.

It is currently anticipated that Phase 2 will produce about 34 400 GJ of LNG and about 4 200 kg of liquid helium a day in its first full financial year of production.