Refrigeration giant enters Asian market as expansion accelerates
On May 25, Bluefors, the refrigeration giant and leading Finnish manufacturer of cryogenic measurement systems, announced the acquisition of Rockgate, a Tokyo, Japan-based distributor of cryogenic equipment. through this acquisition, Bluefors will establish a direct sales and service presence in the Japanese cryogenic technology market and expand its global footprint beyond Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S.
Rob Blaauwgeers, CEO and founder of Bluefors, said, "Rockgate became Bluefors' first distributor in the early stages of our development, and they have supported us in Japan ever since. They trusted us and our solutions from the beginning, and we are confident that this team will continue to support our Japanese customers and drive Bluefors' growth, and great success, in Japan."
"Bluefors has been a great home for Rockgate," said Tsuneo Kado, Rockgate's director and founder, "It is time for me to start thinking about retirement and I can take this step with great confidence knowing that the team will become part of a company with great people, products and a future."
The transaction is reportedly estimated to close by the end of June 2023; upon completion of the acquisition, Tsuyoshi Ohta will be responsible for leading Bluefors' business in Japan.
While temperature is often measured in "degrees Celsius", the international temperature scale uses "K" (degrees = K-273.15) as the unit.
According to the third law of thermodynamics, the lowest temperature the universe can reach is only infinitely close to absolute zero (0K, i.e. -273.15 degrees). Daily refrigeration usually uses general refrigeration technology (e.g., refrigerators), while in medicine, liquid nitrogen (70K) is used to obtain rapid, deep cooling of biological tissues; to obtain low temperatures in the liquid helium temperature region (below 4K), technologies such as throttling and depressurization cooling are required; very low temperatures below 1K require adsorption refrigeration technology; and to obtain very low temperatures below 100mK, which tend to be close to absolute zero, only magnetic refrigeration as well as dilution chillers.
Dilution refrigeration machine diagram
A dilution chiller is an experimental cryogenic device that uses a mixture of two helium isotopes (helium-3 and helium-4) to cool the space volume to the milli-Kelvin (mK) range, i.e., a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero (-273.15°C).
Dilution chillers perform the cooling by removing heat from the helium isotope mixture using multiple steps, and then using a vacuum pump to circulate and dilute the helium-3 into the helium-3/helium-4 mixture until the target temperature is reached. In the early stages, all dilution chillers were "wet" systems, requiring already cold substances like liquid nitrogen and other cryogenic liquids to start the cooling process. Today's chillers are more commonly known as "dry", i.e., liquid helium-free dilution chillers: a mechanical component called a cryocooler is used to provide initial temperatures of 50K and 4K to pre-cool the helium mixture.
Dilution chillers are used in many fields requiring extreme conditions, such as quantum computing, superconductivity, astronomy and condensed matter physics; among them, quantum computing is the main field of application and its function is to meet the operational needs of quantum computers along the lines of superconductivity, semiconductors, topologies and ion traps, which require a low-temperature environment.
The ambient temperature range of quantum computing systems Source: ICV TAnk
As quantum computers continue to evolve, the increasingly mature superconducting quantum computers will be the driving force behind the growing market share of dilution chillers. In addition, benefiting from the same quantum bit environment, semiconductor quantum computers will continue to develop in the footsteps of superconducting quantum computers, and the resulting incremental demand will be a growth point for the dilution chiller industry in the future.
In 2022, the total global market size of dilution chillers is USD 193 million, divided by different temperature zones, of which the market size of dilution chillers in the temperature zone below 10mK (for superconducting quantum computers) accounts for about 76%, or USD 147 million, and the market size of dilution chillers in the temperature zone 10mK-100mK accounts for about 22%, or USD 0.42 billion.
In the market share and industry analysis, ICV data had shown that Europe has the highest market share (38%), followed by China (25%) in terms of market share forecast for dilution chillers in different regions and different temperature zones in 2025. The market share for temperature zones below 10mk is as high as 77%, while the market share for 10-100mk is only 21%.
For the market share of dilution chillers in different temperature zones in different regions, the size of the European market is growing steadily. China's dilution chillers market size due to the embargo restrictions in 2023 (only for temperature zones below 10mk), (although dilution chillers in other temperature zones are not affected, but because dilution chillers in temperature zones below 10mk account for most of the market), so China's dilution chillers market size after 2023 shows a precipitous decline.
However, the total global market size of dilution chillers will not be affected by this, and the original market share of dilution chillers (below 10mk) in China will be compensated by North America and Europe.
The total global market size of dilution chillers is expected to be $266 million by 2025.
Global Dilution Chillers Market Size (2022~2030); Unit: USD Billion
With such a huge market prospect, the players in this must also be ambitious.
In fact, otherwise, because of the high precision technology and high technical threshold, there are only a few relevant commercial companies. At present, the main players in the global dilution chiller are: Bluefors (Finland), Oxford instruments (UK), LeidenCryogenics (Netherlands), CryoConcept (France), Form Factor (USA), Maybell Quantum (USA), Quantum Design (USA), Ulvac Cryogenics (Japan), and Zero Point Cryogenics (Canada). Among them, Bluefors and Oxford instruments alone hold the major global market share.
Dilution Chillers Market Players
Global Dilution Chillers Key Vendors Source: ICV TAnk
In recent years, the field of quantum computing has witnessed an unprecedented boom as the coherence time, number of bits, and connection technology of superconducting quantum bits have increased dramatically. As a result, traditional small dilution chillers are no longer sufficient for basic experimental needs, and higher configuration chillers are urgently needed. Currently, the BlueFors XLD1000 is one of the very few models that can meet these needs and therefore enjoys a high level of recognition in this research field.
XLD dilution chillers floor plan
Founded in 2008, BlueFors' XLD dilution chiller series is for the most demanding experiments requiring large experimental space and the superior performance of a cryogen-free dilution chiller measurement system. It comes with six side loading ports, each of which can accommodate up to 32 SMA lines. The side-loading feature allows wiring and assembly on a bench away from the cryostat.
As a result, wiring assemblies can be prepared or complete experiments can be performed while the system is running. When the system is preheated to room temperature, components can be exchanged immediately, greatly reducing idle time at room temperature - the model is ideal for quantum technology.
Bluefors has also long worked to build easy-to-operate, one-touch cooling dry dilution refrigeration systems to further refine the technology and expand its use to meet customer needs.
For example, in order to control more quantum bits, a new way of thinking about quantum measurement systems is needed, starting with the cryogenic system itself. To this end, Bluefors is introducing a new cryogenic platform, KIDE, to enable unprecedented scalability and accessibility for the next level of quantum computing, which will enable greater cooling capacity and flexibility than any previous ultra-cold measurement system.
To advance industry interaction and commercial collaboration, Bluefors has also joined the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C®) - an industry-driven consortium managed by SRI International whose mission is to promote and develop a robust quantum industry and associated supply chain.
During 2022, Bluefors is also working with a number of quantum companies, including Rigetti, Intel, and IBM, to apply its cryogenic technology in quantum computers.
In late March 2023, Bluefors successfully completed the acquisition of Cryomech, a 60-year-old pioneer in cryogenic cooling technology and manufacturing in the United States, a feat that gives Bluefors nearly 600 employees and cryogenic experts in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. This has also greatly increased Bluefors' direct presence in the United States: approximately one-third of the company's employees work in New York State. There is no doubt that Bluefors became an important part of the U.S. supply chain for cryogenic products used in quantum technology, fundamental physics research and other specific industries - while also strengthening Cryomech's presence in Europe.
In Bluefors' early years, Rockgate was appointed as the company's first distributor. The Rockgate acquisition is also in line with Bluefors' growth strategy of being close to the market and close to the customer.
In response, Mikko Nurminen, Vice President of Sales for Bluefors, said, "Japan is one of the world's leading markets for cryogenic and quantum technologies, with tremendous potential for future growth. Establishing a direct Bluefors presence in the market to be closer to our customers and understand their evolving needs is critical for us to continue to meet and exceed their expectations."
In 2021, IBM announced their Goldeneye project to build an unprecedentedly large (1.7 cubic meters) dilution cooler for quantum computers; in late 2022, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have also announced that they are building Colossus, which when completed will be the largest and most powerful dilution cooler to date at mK temperatures, with the Goldeneye being only one-third the volume of Colossus.
However, as the technology is not available in China, the dilution chillers used in quantum and other fields are imported from foreign companies and are sold at very high prices (about 3-10 million RMB/unit). For example, the dilution chiller of CEC 16 has a stage breakthrough, and its continuous cycle working temperature reaches 9.3mK; CSIC Pengli ultra-low temperature dilution chiller currently uses GM chiller as pre-cooling cold source, and the lowest temperature also reaches 12mk (continuous operation).
According to ICV research point of view, China's current dilution refrigerator on the road to self-research difficulties mainly include the development of dilution refrigerator necessary for the isotope 3He, pre-cooling required pulse tube and cold head and other prefabricated cold equipment rely heavily on imports, as well as some cryogenic equipment welding process problems. In addition there are a series of technical problems that need to be overcome like cold leakage, super leakage problems, coil heat exchangers and silver powder heat exchangers.
In 2023, for China, the embargo on dilution chillers below 10mK will force it to accelerate the process of independent research and development. in March 2023, the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a 7.6mK, 450μW@100mK medium-sized commercial dilution chiller, which undoubtedly brings us a heavy technical benefit.
Time is still running out. We believe that domestic experts will lead us out of the dilemma and into the future.
Reference links:
[1]https://www.rockgateco.com/company/
[2]https://www.gasworld.com/story/bluefors-to-acquire-japanese-cryogenic-firm-rockgate/2123601.article/
[3]https://thequantuminsider.com/2023/05/25/bluefors-acquires-rockgate-establishing-direct-presence-in-japanese-cryogenic-tech- market/
[4]https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UF7tGZfzApZX0lUjX73D4g
