chemical · input

Krypton Gas — Satellite Propulsion & Insulating Glass

Krypton is a noble gas co-produced with xenon and neon from steel mill ASU byproduct streams. SpaceX chose krypton over xenon for Starlink V1.5 and V2 satellites because it is cheaper (~10× less than xenon) while still providing sufficient specific impulse for LEO satellite station-keeping. Krypton also fills premium triple-pane insulating glass units (IGUs) for building energy efficiency — better thermal performance than argon fill. Global krypton market: ~30 metric tons/year for satellites; ~100+ metric tons/year for insulating glass. Ukraine is a major supplier; the 2022 Russian invasion disrupted ~35% of global krypton supply.

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Share of global supply, by country.

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5 companies produce krypton gas — satellite propulsion & insulating glass.

Air Liquide S.A.(AI)

HQ FR22% share

World's largest industrial gas company; provides gas odorant distribution and blending services globally including ethyl mercaptan. Air Liquide distributes and markets mercaptan gas odorants to LPG and natural gas utilities. Also a leading producer of industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, noble gases) for healthcare, industry, and energy. Air Liquide is listed among the top ethyl mercaptan market participants; primarily as a specialty gas blender/distributor rather than a primary mercaptan chemical producer.

Linde plc(LIN)

HQ IE20% share

Linde plc (NYSE/FWB: LIN; HQ Dublin, Ireland; operational HQ Guildford UK; ~$32B revenue 2023) is the world's largest industrial gas company. Linde owns and operates one of the two largest liquid oxygen cryogenic tanker fleets globally — thousands of vacuum-insulated trailers delivering LOX to hospitals, steel mills, chemical plants, and semiconductor fabs in 80+ countries. Linde does not primarily manufacture its own tankers (purchases from Chart Industries and other OEMs) but specifies custom vacuum-insulated designs for its fleet. Linde's medical oxygen business (hospital LOX supply) is the dominant fleet use case. Linde also supplies liquid oxygen rocket propellant to aerospace customers including NASA and commercial launch operators.

Cryoin Engineering

HQ UA15% share

Ukrainian specialty gas company (Odesa/Odessa, Ukraine); one of the two major Ukrainian semiconductor-grade neon producers before and during the 2022 Russian invasion. Cryoin's Odesa facility processes crude neon from Ukrainian steel mill ASUs into semiconductor-grade product (5N purity — 99.999%) for export to Asian and European chip manufacturers. Unlike Ingas in Mariupol, Cryoin's Odesa facility was not directly destroyed in the early months of the war — Odesa, while subject to missile attacks, remained under Ukrainian control. Cryoin reportedly supplied approximately 20-30% of global semiconductor-grade neon pre-war. Cryoin's continued operations represent a tenuous supply lifeline for semiconductor manufacturers — operating in a country at war, subject to electricity shortages, and under constant threat from Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure (which Russia systematically targeted starting in late 2022). Each Russian strike on Ukrainian power infrastructure disrupted Cryoin's neon purification operations.

Air Products(APD)

HQ US10% share

American industrial gas and hydrogen infrastructure company (NYSE: APD, HQ Allentown PA; ~$12B revenue); world's 3rd-largest industrial gas company and the leading investor in large-scale green hydrogen projects globally. Air Products produces industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium) globally and is the operator of several major helium liquefaction plants (including facilities in Wyoming and internationally). Air Products' NEOM clean hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia (joint venture with ACWA Power and NEOM company) — the world's largest planned green hydrogen production facility — will produce green hydrogen (from solar/wind electrolysis) exported as ammonia and ultimately reconverted to hydrogen in global markets. Air Products is the one major industrial gas company most committed to the 'hydrogen economy' vision — its CEO Seifi Ghasemi has publicly stated that Air Products would transform from an industrial gas company into a clean hydrogen infrastructure company. The same company that provides helium to hospital MRI machines is simultaneously building the largest green hydrogen plant on Earth in the Saudi desert.

Messer Group

HQ DE10% share

German private industrial gas company; invested $25M in neon recycling technologies (2024) with 500,000 m³/year recovery facility established in Germany. Active in 30+ European and Asian markets. One of the top 5-7 global neon suppliers. Also a major provider of medical and industrial gases across Europe.