Helium (He) is widely used across industries thanks to its high thermal conductivity and chemically stable, inert nature. However, it can only be extracted in small quantities from natural gas, making its supply extremely limited. Meanwhile, rapidly rising demand across multiple industries — including semiconductors — has driven helium prices higher year after year.
As helium plays a critical role in heat control and maintaining vacuum environments in semiconductor manufacturing, it remains an irreplaceable resource, making stable supply crucial to production efficiency and overall competitiveness.
To ensure the sustainable use of this valuable resource, Samsung Semiconductor has developed the industry’s first Helium Reuse System (HeRS) — a solution that recovers, purifies, and reuses high-purity exhaust helium generated from semiconductor processes.
HeRS, co-developed in collaboration with our domestic partner, was first implemented at one of Samsung’s semiconductor production lines in April 2025. As a result, the system enabled an annual reduction of approximately 4.7 metric tons of helium.
Samsung Semiconductor plans to expand HeRS to additional lines while continuing research on further reuse technologies – upgrading spent, low-purity helium back into high-purity form – through a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with an overseas partner specializing in this field across industries beyond semiconductors. Through these efforts, Samsung Semiconductor aims to strengthen helium circularity end-to-end, securing greater stability across the helium supply chain while building a more efficient and sustainable production system.
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