A two-stage pulse-tube cryocooler pre-cools the refrigerator to about 3–4 K with no moving parts at its cold end, driven by a water-cooled compressor that circulates helium-4, while a chiller carries the compressor’s heat away. SHI’s RP-222B3S, launched in Sept 2026, delivers 2.0 W at 4.2 K and 55 W at 45 K, and helium is tight: Nippon Sanso raised Japanese helium prices by 30% or more from July 2026 after production suspensions in the Middle East.
A two-stage pulse-tube cryocooler that pre-cools the upper stages to about 3 kelvin: the cold head on the top plate with its rotary valve, the water-cooled helium compressor on the floor, the helium-4 that charges them, and the chiller that removes the compressor’s heat.
The compressor pushes high-pressure helium to the cold head, where a rotary valve and regenerators turn pressure waves into cooling at two stages. The helium is the working gas, and the chiller carries the compressor’s heat away.
Illustrative pulse-tube cryocooler example. Designs differ by manufacturer; the model is not a bill of materials.
What to look for: The motor and rotary valve on top of the cold head, the regenerator and pulse tubes down to the two cold flanges, the compressor with its oil adsorber and gauges, the helium cylinder, and the chiller’s coil and fan.
Who makes the pulse-tube cryocoolers for dilution refrigerators?
Our sources name two makers: Cryomech, owned by private Bluefors since March 2023, whose PT310-RM is built into Bluefors refrigerators and raised mixing-chamber cooling power by 10–20%, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, whose RP-series pulse tubes it says pre-cool dilution refrigerators. ULVAC makes pulse tubes for its own refrigerators, and QuantumCTek uses an unnamed Chinese-made unit.
Does the helium shortage affect quantum computers?
Dry dilution refrigerators do not boil off liquid helium, but their compressors and gas handling systems hold helium-4, and the dilution unit needs scarce helium-3. Nippon Sanso raised Japanese helium prices by an average of 30% or more from July 2026, citing production suspensions in the Middle East. For helium-3, Air Liquide and Linde sell the isotope, and Bluefors agreed to purchase up to 10,000 liters a year of lunar helium-3 from private Interlune for delivery in 2028–2037.
Sumitomo Heavy Industries sells 4 K pulse tubes and helium compressors and says they pre-cool dilution refrigerators, ULVAC makes its own pulse tubes, and IHI and Nippon Sanso are developing a turbo-and-dilution cooling system for 10,000-qubit-class machines. Helium comes from ExxonMobil (about 20% of world supply from LaBarge, per a 2022 page), Linde, Air Products, Air Liquide, Iwatani and Nippon Sanso. Cryomech, the other pulse-tube maker in our sources, belongs to private Bluefors.
Open each company below for its source and limitations. Sector membership does not establish a confirmed supply contract.
Inside the assembly
Pulse-tube cold head
The cold head: a rotary valve that switches the helium flow, regenerators packed with fine metal or rare-earth material, and thin pulse tubes, with a first stage at about 40 kelvin and a second at about 3 kelvin.
Stock-link scope: SHI sells RP-series 4 K pulse tubes (up to 2.0 W at 4.2 K) and says they pre-cool dilution refrigerators; ULVAC makes the pulse tubes for its own dilution refrigerators. The other main maker, Cryomech, has belonged to private Bluefors since Mar 28, 2023, and its PT310-RM is built into Bluefors refrigerators. QuantumCTek uses an unnamed Chinese-made pulse tube, and IHI’s turbo refrigerator for a 10,000-qubit-class system is still in development, so neither is mapped here.
Also in this part (not publicly listed):Cryomech Subsidiary of Bluefors (private), ULVAC CRYOGENICS Subsidiary of ULVAC (6728.T) and Edwards (Atlas Copco) as a 50:50 joint venture, Bluefors Not publicly listed
Helium compressor
A water-cooled compressor package that supplies the cold head with high-pressure helium through flexible lines and cleans the gas with an oil adsorber.
Stock-link scope: SHI’s F-70 and F-100 water-cooled helium compressors drive its pulse tubes (the F-70 draws 6.7–8.5 kW with a pulse tube and needs 6–9 L/min of cooling water), and ULVAC Cryogenics lists compressor units in its cryogenic-equipment range. Cryomech compressors are sold by private Bluefors. The scroll capsule inside each compressor package is not documented in our sources.
Also in this part (not publicly listed):Cryomech Subsidiary of Bluefors (private), Bluefors Not publicly listed
Helium-4 gas
Industrial helium-4, the working gas of the compressor and cold head and most of the dilution mixture. It is recovered from natural gas and delivered in high-pressure cylinders.
Stock-link scope: Helium-4 is the cryocooler’s working gas and most of the dilution mixture; a dry system does not boil off liquid helium but still needs pure gas to charge and top up. Mapped upstream: ExxonMobil (LaBarge, 20% of world supply per its 2022 page), Linde, Air Products and Air Liquide (global suppliers), Iwatani (about 50% of Japan’s market) and Nippon Sanso (which raised Japanese helium prices by 30% or more from July 2026). None names a quantum-computer customer for helium-4, and Chart Industries, now part of Baker Hughes, is not mapped.
A recirculating chiller that carries the compressor’s several kilowatts of heat away in a closed water loop.
Stock-link scope: QuantumCTek lists a water chiller among the parts of its dilution-refrigerator platform without naming its maker. SHI’s F-70 compressor needs 6–9 L/min of 5–25 °C cooling water from a recirculating chiller or building supply, and air-cooled compressors avoid a chiller. Lake Shore (private) sells recirculating chillers; Thermo Fisher and SMC make recirculating chillers, but no source ties them to cryocooler compressors or quantum computers, so they are not mapped.
Disclosed: Air Liquide’s helium-3 pages name quantum computing and dilution refrigerators among its uses, and its Sept 24, 2020 release reports the 80% Cryoconcept acquisition.
Disclosed: Nippon Sanso’s releases describe its e-Dilution refrigerators, its NEDO cooling project for superconducting quantum computers and its July 2026 helium price revision.
Disclosed: QuantumCTek’s product pages list its dilution refrigerators, ez-Q Engine, cryogenic cabling and thermometry; its Sept 3, 2026 release says the products serve the Zuchongzhi series and the Tianyan cloud.
Disclosed: SHI’s product pages say its pulse tubes pre-cool dilution refrigerators used in quantum computing, and its Sept 2026 release gives the RP-222B3S specification.
Disclosed: ULVAC’s releases describe its quantum dilution refrigerator, the Osaka installation and the IBM-specification development, with a quote from IBM’s Jay Gambetta.
Disclosed: Linde’s helium and isotopes pages describe its helium supply and its helium-3 offer.
Evidence groupings are not investment ratings. Companies may appear in multiple sectors.
Also in this sector (not publicly listed)
ULVAC CRYOGENICS Subsidiary of ULVAC (6728.T) and Edwards (Atlas Copco) as a 50:50 joint venture
Co-developer of ULVAC’s quantum dilution refrigerator; a 50:50 joint venture of ULVAC, Inc. and Edwards Vacuum LLC (Atlas Copco Group) per its company outline, so it is not a wholly owned subsidiary of either. ULVAC’s own listing covers the role.
Finnish dilution-refrigerator maker (XLDsl, LD and the KIDE platform for more than 1,000 qubits) that calls itself the world leader in cryogenic cooling systems for quantum technology. It completed its acquisition of US pulse-tube maker Cryomech on Mar 28, 2023, and in Sept 2025 agreed to purchase up to 10,000 liters a year of lunar helium-3 from Interlune for delivery in 2028–2037.
Syracuse, New York maker of PT-series pulse-tube cryocoolers (PT205–PT820), Gifford-McMahon cryocoolers, helium compressors and helium liquefiers; its PT310-RM is integrated into Bluefors dilution refrigerators.
Lake Shore Cryotronics Subsidiary of DwyerOmega (private)
US maker of cryogenic thermometers (Cernox, Rox), AC resistance bridges, temperature controllers, Janis cryostats and recirculating chillers; now a DwyerOmega brand.
