Helium, critical for tech, faces supply chain crisis
The war in Iran is threatening the world's supply of helium, a natural resource crucial for a range of industries.
Key points
- Helium supply is short after Iranian strikes on Qatar's Ras Laffan and the Strait of Hormuz closure.
- Spot helium prices have tripled since the war began, according to Rich Brooke.
- U.S. helium exports are up 70% since the war began, per Census Bureau data.
The global helium supply is facing a shortage seven months after Iranian strikes on a Qatari gas facility and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, CBS News reports. Helium is used in smartphones, cars, MRI machines, rocket launches and missiles, and the article says there is no substitute for it.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in February trapped one-third of the global helium supply in the Persian Gulf. Ras Laffan, the Qatari facility that produces the country's helium, was then hit by Iranian strikes in March. Qatar has said it will take at least three years to return the facility to full operation.
Prices and U.S. exports
Spot prices for helium have tripled since the start of the war, according to Rich Brooke, a former executive at Air Liquide. U.S. helium exports are up 70% since the war began, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and companies in South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are now looking to the U.S. for supply.
Most U.S. helium comes from a single Wyoming facility, according to the Wyoming Energy Authority. Some suppliers are drawing on reserves stored in deep underground salt caverns.
All it takes is a few of those to fall and the whole supply chain comes unraveled
— Cliff Cain
Impact on labs and chips
Joe Sachleben's University of Chicago lab uses helium in nuclear magnetic resonance machines to develop breast cancer drugs, immunotherapies and Alzheimer's treatments. His supplier has put the lab on allocation, and he said the lab must decide which machines to sacrifice.
One-fifth of the world's helium is consumed by the semiconductor industry, according to the Compressed Gas Association. Surya Iyer of Polar Semiconductors said 40-50% of the machines in a fab use helium in some way.
