Refining & separation · Ukraine
Iceblick
No listing found Work there, own it, buy from it ↓
Neon and rare gases — holds How this is computedCount of bottlenecks on which this organisation is recorded as a producer, a holder of the capacity, or a supplier of a critical part.Method →Code → of the How this is computedCount of rows in the bottleneck corpus: every material plus every non-material chokepoint.Method →Code → bottlenecks tracked here.
Why graded so · The 2022 squeeze made the point: an industrial-gas map and a war map turned out to be the same map.
Role cited from spie.org ↗. The grade is this project’s judgement. Report an error
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01Chokepoints it holds
- Neon, excimer laser gradeEstimate by Substrata, 2026-09-15: concentration 2 + substitution 3 + lead time 2 + inelasticity 3 = 10 of 12. 2022 showed the map: separation rides on steelmaking and half of it sat in Ukraine. Recycling eased it; another shock would not be absorbed.Estimate, not a measurementconcentration 2 + substitution 3 + lead time 2 + inelasticity 3 = 10 of 12. 2022 showed the map: separation rides on steelmaking and half of it sat in Ukraine. Recycling eased it; another shock would not be absorbed.By Substrata · 2026-09-15Supporting source →/122+3+2+3
Refine · Within two years
Other makers: Linde GB US DE, Air Liquide FR, Messer DE, Cryoin Engineering UA, Baosteel Gases CN
Score = concentration + substitution + lead time + inelasticity, each 0–3, an analyst judgement dated 2026-09-15; open a score for its rationale and assessment. Makers are those the corpus records, not the whole market. No market-share figure is sourced, so none is shown.
02What has happened
About what it holds, not naming Iceblick
- 2022-11-10Neon, excimer laser grade
TSMC moves to build a neon supply chain in Taiwan after the war in Ukraine cut global supply. tomshardware.com ↗
03Unread leads
Changelog Jul 31, 2026 - Neon neon.com ↗
NEON: License revenue rose 9.2% and MultiSensing revenue surged, despite a 20.4% drop in total Q2 revenue tradingview.com ↗
Changelog Jun 19, 2026 - Neon neon.com ↗
How Neon's lakebase architecture stays resilient to cloud failures neon.com ↗
Neon shortage coming | Semiconductor Digest sst.semiconductor-digest.com ↗
2026 Global Neon Supply Chain Reconfiguration xenon-gas.com ↗
Pages the sweep found on these chokepoints. Nobody here has read them yet; they are not events and not evidence.
04What could loosen its grip
- On-site neon recycling and separationreadiness
Capturing and re-purifying the rare gas a chip factory uses, instead of buying it fresh from an air separation plant.
Science · for Neon, excimer laser grade
Estimate by Substrata, 2026-09-15: Prototype at meaningful scale. Scored 8 here until the source was read. Two years after the shortage, a leading memory maker was still calling its own system an industry first, recovering 72.7% with 77% as a target — which is a working pilot at one firm, not an industry that has adopted it.Estimate, not a measurementPrototype at meaningful scale. Scored 8 here until the source was read. Two years after the shortage, a leading memory maker was still calling its own system an industry first, recovering 72.7% with 77% as a target — which is a working pilot at one firm, not an industry that has adopted it.By Substrata · 2026-09-15Supporting source →/9
Readiness is the 1–9 technology-readiness scale, a dated judgement; open a figure for the reasoning and its source.
05Others at the same step of the chain
- Wacker ChemieElectronic-grade polysiliconChokepoint
- Hemlock SemiconductorElectronic-grade polysiliconChokepoint
- TokuyamaElectronic-grade polysiliconChokepoint
- OCIPolysiliconConcentrated
- China Northern Rare EarthRare-earth separationChokepoint
- Shenghe ResourcesRare-earth separation and tradingChokepoint
- ChalcoGallium from alumina refiningChokepoint
- HeraeusPrecious-metal refiningConcentrated
- Johnson MattheyPGM refiningConcentrated
- UmicorePGM refining and recyclingConcentrated
- LindeIndustrial and electronic gasesConcentrated
- Air LiquideIndustrial and electronic gasesConcentrated
- Air ProductsIndustrial gases and heliumConcentrated
- 5N PlusHigh-purity specialty metalsConcentrated
06Ways to take part
Not investment advice. This says how the public can reach a company — a job, its shares, its products — not whether anyone should. It takes no account of anyone’s circumstances, and a company holding a chokepoint is not a reason to own it. What this is not
- Work there
- It publishes its roles on its own careers page.Official careers page ↗
- Own part of it
- No public listing was found for Iceblick (checked 2026-09-24); there may be no way for the public to own its shares.
- Buy from it
- What it does in the chain: Neon and rare gases. At this depth of the chain most sales are to other businesses, under contract. Its own page describes what it offers.Its own page ↗
07Hiring
Its roles are published on its own site, which Substrata links rather than reads. Official careers page ↗
08What this holds up
- Siliconone turn: Months
makes Neon, excimer laser grade, which gates it.
Worst judgement on this loop: How this is computedThe highest severity score among the bottlenecks recorded as gates on the loop.Method →Code →, judged 2026-09-15 · this join is sourced
- Materials qualificationone turn: Years
makes Neon, excimer laser grade, which gates it.
Worst judgement on this loop: How this is computedThe highest severity score among the bottlenecks recorded as gates on the loop.Method →Code →, judged 2026-09-15 · this join is sourced
A loop is one design, build and measure turn. Severity is a dated judgement on a 0–12 scale, not a measurement, and the judgements are not added together — the figure shown is the worst single one.
09Sources
- spie.org ↗ — its role in the chain: Neon and rare gases; Neon, excimer laser grade: refine
Discussion
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