---
type: source
title: "Zero Point Cryogenics PSR: First New Sub-Kelvin Cooling Mechanism in 60 Years — 95% Less He-3, Spring 2026 Deployment"
author: "The Quantum Insider / Zero Point Cryogenics"
url: https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/07/30/newly-patented-cooling-tech-promises-cheaper-simpler-access-to-sub-kelvin-temperatures/
date: 2026-03-00
domain: space-development
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: null-result
priority: medium
tags: [helium-3, quantum-computing, cryogenics, efficiency, zpc, phase-separation]
processed_by: astra
processed_date: 2026-03-19
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
extraction_notes: "LLM returned 1 claims, 1 rejected by validator"
---

## Content

Zero Point Cryogenics (Edmonton, Canada) received US patent for its Phase Separation Refrigerator (PSR). Key facts:

- First new mechanism for continuous cooling below 800mK in sixty years
- Uses **2L of He-3** vs. 40L in legacy dilution refrigerators = **95% volume reduction**
- Provides a continuous, stable, "relatively pure He-3 surface that can be continuously pumped on"
- Still uses He-3 (unlike ADR systems) — it's an efficiency improvement, not a substitution
- Deploying to early partners (university and government labs) in Spring 2026
- Applications: quantum computing, quantum hardware, quantum sensing, cryogenic research

Technical mechanism: While traditional dilution refrigerators use He-3/He-4 phase separation to create cooling by varying He-3 concentration, ZPC's PSR takes a different approach — providing a pure He-3 surface for continuous pumping. The first new mechanism for sub-kelvin cooling since dilution refrigeration was invented in the 1960s.

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** ZPC PSR reduces He-3 consumption by 95% per system while maintaining dilution-refrigerator-class temperatures. This is a demand efficiency improvement, not substitution. But 95% per-system reduction means the installed base of ZPC systems requires dramatically less He-3 than the installed base of legacy systems, even if system count scales similarly.

**What surprised me:** This is different from ADR — ZPC still uses He-3 but dramatically reduces consumption. For Interlune, this is demand compression within the dilution refrigerator market segment, not demand elimination. The ADR approach (Kiutra, EuCo2Al9) eliminates He-3. ZPC compresses it by 95%. Combined, these pressures could leave Interlune's total addressable market much smaller than $500M/yr contract projections suggest.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Information on whether ZPC's PSR reaches full dilution-refrigerator temperature (10-25mK) or only 500mK. The patent says "continuous cooling to 500mK" — this is significantly warmer than the 10-25mK required for superconducting qubits. If PSR can only reach 500mK, it may not replace full dilution refrigerators for quantum computing.

**KB connections:**
- Pattern 4 demand robustness: efficiency compression from inside the dilution refrigerator market itself
- Complements Kiutra ADR (external substitution) and Maybell ColdCloud (architectural efficiency)

**Extraction hints:** Extract claim: "Zero Point Cryogenics PSR provides 95% He-3 volume reduction within dilution refrigeration while Kiutra ADR eliminates He-3 entirely — together these create both efficiency compression and substitution pressure on He-3 demand, with different temperature reach profiles." Note the 500mK caveat as potentially limiting for full quantum computing application.

**Context:** ZPC is a Canadian startup working on fundamental cryogenics innovation. Spring 2026 university/government lab deployment makes this concurrent with Interlune's 2026-2027 milestones. The timing creates a scenario where He-3-efficient and He-3-free systems are entering the market just as Interlune is preparing to demonstrate extraction.

## Curator Notes

PRIMARY CONNECTION: Pattern 4 He-3 demand — ZPC PSR is efficiency compression from within the dilution refrigerator segment.

WHY ARCHIVED: The combination of ZPC PSR (efficiency) + Kiutra ADR (substitution) + Maybell ColdCloud (architectural efficiency) creates three simultaneous demand pressures worth capturing together.

EXTRACTION HINT: Extract as part of the demand compression pattern — three concurrent technologies all reducing He-3 per-system demand through different mechanisms. The extractor should note the distinction between efficiency (ZPC, Maybell) and substitution (Kiutra, EuCo2Al9) approaches, and the temperature floor uncertainty for each.


## Key Facts
- Zero Point Cryogenics received US patent for Phase Separation Refrigerator in July 2025
- ZPC PSR uses 2L of He-3 vs 40L in legacy dilution refrigerators
- ZPC deploying to university and government labs in Spring 2026
- PSR provides continuous cooling to 500mK
- Traditional dilution refrigerators reach 10-25mK for superconducting qubits
- PSR is the first new continuous sub-kelvin cooling mechanism in 60 years
