Key Takeaways
- Interlune’s Cold Capture™ technology extracts 99 % pure helium‑3 from ordinary helium using cryogenic distillation.
- Deployed across existing U.S. helium liquefaction plants, the system could triple domestic helium‑3 supply to about 2.5 kg per year.
- The technology addresses immediate demand from superconducting quantum computers while serving as a proving ground for future lunar helium‑3 harvesting.
- Funding includes an AFWERX SBIR Direct‑to‑Phase II contract, nearly $500 million in binding helium‑3 purchase agreements, $23 million in venture capital, and >$18 million in non‑dilutive U.S. government support.
- Interlune envisions a lunar‑based helium‑3 industry that will support advanced computing, scientific research, and a sustainable human presence beyond Earth.
Overview of Interlune’s Announcement
On July 20, 2026, Interlune, a Seattle‑based space infrastructure and resources company, announced that its Cold Capture™ technology has successfully produced helium‑3 of 99 % purity from Grade A helium. The breakthrough was demonstrated in early 2025 and later validated through an AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct‑to‑Phase II contract awarded in November 2025. Helium‑3 is a strategically vital isotope for national defense and quantum computing, yet it is exceedingly scarce on Earth, making any reliable domestic source highly valuable.
The Dual Purpose of Cold Capture™
Cold Capture™ serves two complementary goals. First, it supplies additional helium‑3 to meet the urgent need for cooling superconducting quantum computers to temperatures within a few kelvins of absolute zero. Second, the same cryogenic separation process is intended to be deployed on the Moon, where it will harvest industrial quantities of helium‑3 from lunar regolith, thereby supporting long‑term space‑based resource utilization.
How Cold Capture™ Works
Interlune’s engineers developed Cold Capture™ at the company’s Seattle headquarters using cryogenic distillation. The system cools helium mixtures to temperatures approaching absolute zero, exploiting the minute differences in zero‑point energy and quantum statistics between helium‑3 and the far more abundant helium‑4. This enables helium‑3 with a feat that is required for commercial. The modest isotopic mass difference makes separation extraordinarily difficult, but at cryogenic temperatures the slight variance in vapor pressure becomes sufficient for selective extraction, allowing the technology to scale from laboratory to industrial volumes.
Current Helium‑Scale and Projected Impact
In 2025, the United States produced roughly 81 billion liters of gaseous and Grade A helium across numerous facilities. If Cold Capture™ were installed at each of these plants, Interlune estimates an annual yield of up to 2.5 kilograms of helium‑3—approximately three times the current domestic output. This increase would significantly alleviate the bottleneck that presently constrains quantum‑hardware manufacturers and defense‑related research programs.
Addressing Misconceptions About Terrestrial Helium‑3
A common belief is that helium‑3 can be readily expanded by increasing tritium production, since tritium decays into helium‑3 over time. In reality, the world’s helium‑3 supply largely stems from aging tritium stockpiles that have been decaying for decades, and boosting tritium manufacture is capital‑intensive and slow. Moreover, trace amounts of helium‑3 exist in all terrestrial helium regardless of the gas field’s origin; the real challenge lies not in locating new helium sources but in efficiently separating helium‑3 from the massive volumes already processed. Cold Capture™ integrates directly with helium liquefaction plants that aggregate helium from many origins, thereby capturing far more helium‑3 than any single field could yield.
Growing Demand from Quantum Computing
Superconducting quantum computers rely on dilution refrigerators that require a steady supply of helium‑3 to reach millikelvin temperatures. As the quantum‑computing industry expands, helium‑3 has become one of the rarest commercially used materials on Earth, with limited global production. Interlune has already secured nearly $500 million in legally binding helium‑3 purchase agreements, principally from quantum‑refrigeration firms Maybell Quantum and Bluefors, underscoring the strong market appetite for a reliable domestic source.
Funding and Financial Backing
Beyond the AFWERX SBIR contract, Interlune has raised $23 million in venture capital and obtained more than $18 million in non‑dilutive funding from the U.S. government and other partners. These resources support both the near‑term scaling of Cold Capture™ for terrestrial helium‑3 recovery and the longer‑term development of lunar‑based extraction systems. The combination of private investment, government grants, and pre‑sale agreements provides a solid financial foundation for the company’s ambitious roadmap.
Validating Technology for Lunar Operations
While Cold Capture™ presently addresses Earth‑based shortages, its core cryogenic separation principles are being validated for future use on the Moon. Interlune’s long‑term mission envisions autonomous industrial systems operating in the lunar environment to extract helium‑3 from regolith, as well as other valuable resources such as hydrogen, oxygen, metals, rare‑earth elements, and water. Successful terrestrial deployment reduces technical risk and provides performance data essential for designing robust, low‑maintenance equipment capable of functioning in the Moon’s extreme temperature swings and vacuum conditions.
About Interlune
Founded in 2021 by a team of public‑ and private‑sector experts, Interlune is building the industrial backbone of a future lunar economy. The company focuses on developing and testing systems that will operate autonomously in harsh extraterrestrial conditions, creating the infrastructure needed for a permanent human presence on the Moon and an in‑space economy. Central to this vision is the harvesting of natural resources—starting with helium‑3 and expanding to hydrogen, oxygen, metals, rare‑earth elements, and water—thereby enabling sustainable operations beyond Earth.
Conclusion and Forward Look
Interlune’s Cold Capture™ technology marks a pivotal step toward alleviating the current helium‑3 shortage while simultaneously proving the feasibility of extraterrestrial resource extraction. By coupling immediate commercial benefits with a clear pathway to lunar operations, the company positions itself at the nexus of advanced computing, national security, and space exploration. As quantum‑computing hardware continues to evolve and interest in lunar settlement grows, Interlune’s innovations could become a cornerstone of both terrestrial high‑tech supply chains and the emerging off‑world economy.
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