The French astronomer Jules Janssen first discovered helium on our Sun in 1868. Since then, experts have discovered that the Sun consists largely of helium and hydrogen. In reference to the Greek sun god Helios, the discovered inert gas was called helium. After hydrogen, helium is the second most abundant chemical element in the universe. It is estimated that up to a quarter of the known matter in the universe consists of helium. However, helium is rarely found on earth and has been one of the critical raw materials in the EU since 2018. The list of consumers around the globe is headed by the US space agency NASA.
Great potential with helium
On earth, helium is mainly extracted from natural gas. The concentration in natural gas can be up to 7% and deposits have already been found in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Royal Helium (TSXV: RHC) from Canada holds 205,417 hectares of exploration rights for the inert gas in the province of Saskatchewan. Exploration will be carried out on up to 30 structures where a content of at least 1% can be identified.
Royal Helium is thus one of the largest holders of exploration rights in North America and the company's potential in the event of success is correspondingly high.
Technologies need inert gas
The market and demand for helium is growing continuously, as the inert gas is used to cool magnets and other technical equipment. Helium is also needed in space travel to pressurize the rocket's tanks and keep them constant, as more than two tons of fuel per second are consumed in flight.
If demand increases and supply remains constant or even decreases, it affects the market price, which has been rising for years. Royal Helium's share price rose significantly on Friday amid relatively high trading volumes.
Moving up to the TSX
The
dynaCERT (TSX: DYA) share has been traded on the TSX in Toronto since last week. Previously, trading took place in the growth market TSXV. The change gives a
broader audience the opportunity to trade the shares of the cleantech company, as the disclosure requirements have increased and the segment is more strictly regulated. Mobile Emissions Testing Inc. has reported that it conducted a test with a truck and dynaCERT's HydraGEN device from June 6th to 28th, 2020.
The test demonstrated a 43.5% reduction in NOx. During the same period, diesel consumption was reduced by 113.30 litres, resulting in a 301.37 kg reduction in CO2 emissions. These measurement results were obtained because the HydraGEN device on board generates hydrogen on demand and adds it to the combustion as a catalyst. This increases efficiency and makes combustion cleaner. Mobility becomes cleaner easily and without large investments.
Hydrogen inspires plant engineers
The plant manufacturer
NEL ASA (FSE: D7G) has had an exciting week. With a new high, a market value of over EUR 2.6 billion was reached. The hype about hydrogen as an energy carrier is not over yet and is gaining more political support.
The advantage of hydrogen as an energy storage medium compared to batteries is that no raw materials need to be extracted for the energy-intensive production of batteries, and no hazardous waste is caused at the end of the life cycle. Also, the refuelling process takes as long as with a conventional combustion engine. NEL ASA is in the focus of investors, politics and economy as a supplier for the development of an infrastructure.
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