Neon Gas (Semiconductor-Grade, for Excimer Lasers)

Iceblick Ltd (Odessa, Ukraine) was the world's largest semiconductor-grade neon producer by volume before February 2022 — producing approximately 15-30% of global semiconductor-grade neon from crude neon sourced as a byproduct of Ukrainian steel production. Iceblick also produces krypton, xenon, and argon for industrial and specialty gas markets. The company's neon purification capacity is located in Odessa, which was not occupied during Russia's 2022 invasion but was subjected to missile attacks and port blockades affecting operations. Iceblick has resumed partial operations post-2022 but the Ukrainian steel industry (a primary crude neon source) has been severely reduced by the war, limiting crude neon feedstock availability.

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.

Ukrainian rare gas company (Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast); was the world's largest supplier of semiconductor-grade neon before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ingas produced crude neon from the Mariupol Ilyich Iron & Steel Works (one of Ukraine's largest steel plants) — a massive ASU byproduct stream that was purified to semiconductor grade (5N+ purity) for sale to chip manufacturers globally. Ingas reportedly supplied approximately 25-30% of global semiconductor-grade neon. The company's facilities in Mariupol were effectively destroyed or seized during Russia's brutal siege of Mariupol in March-April 2022 — the same siege that made Mariupol's Azovstal Steel Plant famous for the Ukrainian military's last stand. When Ingas stopped operating, a significant fraction of global semiconductor neon supply disappeared overnight. TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and other major chip manufacturers scrambled to find alternative sources.

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.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE: APD; Allentown, PA; ~$12B revenue) licenses the APCI (Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.) natural gas liquefaction process technology used in many small- and mid-scale LNG liquefaction trains worldwide, including utility peak-shaving plants. The APCI propane pre-cooled mixed refrigerant (C3MR) process dominates large baseload LNG export trains globally (used in >90% of world's baseload LNG capacity), but Air Products also licenses adapted cycles for smaller peak-shaving applications. Air Products competes with Linde Engineering for small-scale liquefaction process technology licensing. Air Products is also the world's largest industrial gas producer, supplying nitrogen and other gases used in LNG facility construction and purging.