By
37 min ago 3 min read
Helium exploration company Pulsar Helium has signed and accepted an $85.5m equipment-supply proposal with Chart Industries, a Baker Hughes company, for helium and carbon dioxide (CO2) equipment for its Topaz Project in Minnesota.
Signed through Pulsar’s wholly owned subsidiary, Pulsar Helium MN, the proposal includes a helium purification and liquefaction plant and related equipment, with a liquefaction capacity of 7.5 million litres of liquid helium annually.
It also includes a CO2 plant, with a capture capacity of 300 tonnes each day. The plant is expected to have a nameplate capacity of more than 100,000 tonnes of liquid CO2 annually.
The $85.5m equipment-supply figure excludes installation and commissioning, site infrastructure and interconnections, taxes, duties and tariffs, and certain other owner and third-party costs.
Thomas Abraham-James, CEO of Pulsar, said, “The planned plant [is]…supporting our strategy to develop an industrial-scale rare-gas processing infrastructure in Minnesota.”
Pulsar has made an initial payment of around $5m, with a second payment of $8.55m scheduled for 31 January 2027, subject to further funding. The remaining payments are expected to be made in stages under the commercial framework of the agreement.
Following the second payment, Chart Industries will be authorised to begin procurement of long-lead items, with equipment manufacture expected to take around two years.
Certain equipment for the helium liquefaction system has already been manufactured.
In March, Pulsar signed a letter of intent with Chart Industries for an integrated CO2 capture and helium liquefaction facility. The companies subsequently progressed the project through a series of equipment-supply arrangements.
In July, Pulsar entered into a to reserve a $78.7m helium liquefaction plant and equipment package for its Topaz Project to be acquired from an unnamed US-based industrial gas equipment company.
In the same month, and in parallel, global energy company Baker Hughes completed its of Chart Industries.
Minnesota helium legislation
In May, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed focused on the permitting of gas extraction projects, in a move set to benefit the state’s helium market.
The legislation applies only to gas well projects primarily focused on helium exploration in Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties. It bans oil wells and hydraulic fracturing in gas wells, while still allowing companies to sell CO2 captured during normal helium production.
Pulsar previously said the legislation would advance its Topaz Project, which is targeting final investment decision (FID) this year.
Between October 2025 to March 2026, Pulsar drilled five core-hole appraisal wells at the Topaz Project, and it is now obtaining quotes for the drilling of up to six new production ready wells to supplement two production-ready wells already drilled.
