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China’s Zhongtai Cryogenic Technology is set to begin providing raw rare gas materials to its joint venture with South Korea’s POSCO Holdings. This year, up to CNY50 million (around $7 million) worth of products will be delivered to support the semiconductor industry.
A division of Zhongtai will supply noble gases—including krypton, helium, xenon, and neon—to POSCO Zhongtai Airsolution (PZAS), a joint venture established in Gwangyang, South Korea, a year ago. The cryogenic equipment manufacturer announced this following the closing of trading on the previous day.
PZAS specializes in further purifying noble gases for local semiconductor manufacturers. Since Zhongtai holds an indirect stake of 14.2% in the joint venture, this transaction qualifies as a related-party deal, the company explained.
The partnership between Zhongtai and POSCO was first announced at the end of 2023. Besides the raw gas supply, Zhongtai also committed to providing gas purification equipment. The firms agreed on a CNY175 million (approximately $24.6 million) equipment contract in October 2024, with delivery scheduled for November 2025. This marked a major milestone in their collaboration.
Rare gases are generally recovered as by-products from oxygen production plants serving steel mills. Zhongtai has established a dedicated subsidiary in Hebei Province, a key steel hub in northern China, which handles the acquisition and initial processing of these gases.
Despite the new supply agreement, Zhongtai’s stock price (listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange as 300435) decreased by 0.9% today, closing at CNY18.27 (about $2.60). Over the past year, the stock has increased over 90%, trading near its highest point since March 2022.
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