ASP Isotopes has announced that Renergen’s Virginia Gas Project, in South Africa’s Free State province, is producing liquid helium on a stable basis. Tetra4, the subsidiary that operates the facility, has completed commissioning of phase 1. Helium is already accumulating in cryogenic tanks, awaiting the first deliveries to customers with existing supply contracts.
Phase 1 targets roughly 2,500 GJ per day of liquefied natural gas and about 70 Mcf per day of liquid helium. Full capacity is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. Chairman and CEO Paul Mann, who also leads Renergen, described stable production as a decisive milestone for both Renergen and ASP Isotopes. Logistical details for the first deliveries are now being finalized with customers.
The project holds South Africa’s first onshore petroleum production right. It is also the country’s first integrated producer of liquid helium and LNG. Renergen owns 94.5% of Tetra4 and is itself controlled by ASP Isotopes, a Nasdaq-listed US company headquartered in Dallas.
The link to nuclear comes through the group’s core business. ASP Isotopes develops technologies to produce materials used in nuclear medicine, electronics and nuclear energy, namely the Aerodynamic Separation Process and Quantum Enrichment. The group operates isotope enrichment facilities in Pretoria and, through Renergen, a gas production site in the Free State.
Helium serves multiple high-tech sectors, from superconducting magnets to semiconductors, and global supply is under pressure. Mann explained that a new, independent source matters more than ever and that customers had been waiting for it. For ASP Isotopes, the revenue stream from gas can complement the development of nuclear isotopes, which takes longer to mature.
The next steps to watch are the first deliveries and the achievement of nameplate capacity by year-end. If they materialize, South Africa will have a local helium supplier and ASP Isotopes an operating base to fund its other programs.
