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34 min ago 2 min read
Posco Air Solution (Posco), the industrial gas arm of Posco Group, has become the first company in Asia to achieve AS9100D aerospace and defence quality management certification for the production of high-purity rare gases.
Awarded by UK-based assurance company LRQA, the certification is expected to support Posco’s expansion into South Korea’s aerospace sector by qualifying it to supply high-purity xenon and krypton for spacecraft propulsion and other aerospace applications.
The company said the certification will enable it to expand beyond traditional semiconductors and display markets, while helping to localise production of high-purity rare gases for South Korea’s aerospace industry.
AS9100D builds on ISO 9001 with additional requirements covering product safety, process consistency, traceability, and risk management.
The certification follows Posco construction of a high-purity rare gases production facility at the Donghoan site of its Gwangyang Works steel complex in South Korea in June.
Posco’s plant has an annual production capacity of 130,000 Nm3, producing high-purity xenon, krypton, and neon by refining crude gas feedstock extracted from its oxygen plants in an integrated process, securing a stable mass production system.
According to wider market research, the space propulsion market in South Korea was valued at $29.6m in 2026 and is projected to reach $79.1m by 2031.
The global space race is also opening a new chapter for rare gases such as krypton and xenon, according to Messer’s Dr Martin Dilla, as rising satellite launches help offset the decline of traditional applications.
Speaking at the gasworld Specialty Gas Summit, Dilla said the space industry and semiconductor sector are set to become the two most important drivers of future rare gas use, as traditional markets continue to shrink.
