If it can be synthesised, the ice will be about 25 percent less dense than the current lowest-density record-holder, developed by European researchers in 2014.

It ranks seventh for total energy used, however this is largely the result of the state's relatively low population density, the third lowest in the country.

The estimated population is 15 million. The population density of Kazakhstan is among the lowest in the world, partly because the country includes large areas of inhospitable terrain.