SK Materials, Arencibia ink MOU on noble gas recycling

SK Materials Airplus Co. announced on Monday that it signed an MOU with US-based Arencibia to prepare to enter the noble gas recycling business. 

The two sides held a joint venture signing ceremony on Friday in Seoul. 

Noble, or rare, gases refer to any of the gaseous elements helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon that occupy Group 0 (18) of the periodic table. 

As their name suggests, they exist in very minimal amounts, and their availability is limited to select countries. Furthermore, geopolitical issues can cause their supply to grow unstable.

SK is hopeful that the joint venture provides room to overcome such uncertainty and pave the way for the domestic production of noble gases. 

Arencibia was founded in 1986 as part of the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership in the US state of Pennsylvania.

In addition to its headquarters in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, it operates a western regional office in Denver, Colorado.

The company launched its Argon and Helium Recycle Systems in 1989.

The two partners explained that the use of rare gases can contribute to a reduced carbon footprint. 

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.