Which Sectors Depend on Helium?
Introduction
Helium is often reduced to its recreational use, but this perception masks its true importance in the modern economy. A rare gas, representing less than 0.0005% of the Earth's atmosphere, it is nonetheless indispensable to the functioning of many critical technologies.
Why is this resource so difficult to replace? Which sectors depend on it most? And how can we explain that global demand could double by 2035 [2]?
Classified as a critical resource in several jurisdictions, helium supports a market estimated at between 4 and 5 billion USD [3]. As artificial intelligence, microelectronics, and space technologies develop, its strategic role is becoming increasingly evident.
Cornerstone of the Medical Sector: MRI Scanners
The healthcare sector remains one of the largest consumers of helium, with medical applications related to MRI in particular accounting for approximately one-third of the market according to some estimates in 2025 [4].
This dependence is explained by helium's unique cryogenic properties. In magnetic resonance imaging devices, it is used to cool superconducting magnets to temperatures close to -269°C, a level that only liquid helium can achieve under current operating conditions. In this field, recovery rates are often around 70 to 80%, whereas certain industrial applications, particularly in semiconductors, exceed 95% [5]. This gap partly reflects the constraints specific to hospital environments, where gas recovery is more difficult to optimize.
Supply tensions are already having concrete effects. According to some analyses, helium shortages have led some hospitals to delay the installation of new MRI systems, which can affect diagnostic capabilities in certain regions [5].
The growth of healthcare infrastructure in several emerging markets could continue to increase helium needs over the coming years. In this context, price volatility and supply challenges are pushing some facilities to implement recovery and recycling systems in order to optimize gas usage, better control their costs, and strengthen operational continuity [4].
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
The semiconductor sector also represents one of the most powerful drivers of increasing global helium demand. The advent of AI, the proliferation of data centers, and the extreme miniaturization of electronic chips require a manufacturing environment of purity and thermal stability that only helium can guarantee.
By 2035, global helium demand linked to microelectronics is expected to increase fivefold, while in the United States consumption could quadruple over the same period [6]. This scenario is based on an already observable market dynamic: after a decline of approximately 9.4% in 2023, the semiconductor sector experienced a rebound with estimated growth of 13.1% in 2024, according to WSTS forecasts [7]. This alternation of contraction followed by vigorous recovery illustrates the sector's volatility, but also the underlying upward trend, which translates into growing and difficultly substitutable demand for helium.
Several factors explain this pronounced dependence. Helium serves notably to:
maintain an ultra-pure atmosphere during photolithography;
cool components to cryogenic temperatures essential for the performance of AI systems (down to –269°C) [1];
ensure stable thermal flows in etching and deposition equipment.
Analyses agree on one point: "helium plays a critical role in semiconductor manufacturing, and no alternative exists for certain cooling applications" [6].
This situation is amplified by the massive investments made by global giants. TSMC is building three new plants in Arizona [6], while Intel plans investments of 100 billion USD over five years to increase its production capacity [6]. This expansion is not solely driven by commercial demand. Tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google depend entirely on these advanced semiconductors to power their cloud infrastructures and artificial intelligence services [1]. Their dependence on helium thus becomes indirect but equally critical. As industry analysts indicate, helium plays an essential role in semiconductor manufacturing, where no alternative exists for specific cooling applications [6].
Aerospace and Defense
With an estimated share of approximately 18% of global demand in 2023 [5], the aerospace sector represents a strategic segment for helium. Its average annual growth, estimated at around 11% between 2025 and 2030 [5], is driven by the multiplication of commercial launches, renewed lunar ambitions, and the rapid rise of the private space industry.
In this context, helium plays several critical roles, particularly during launch operations. NASA's Artemis program illustrates this dependence well: a Space Launch System (SLS) launch mobilizes significant volumes of liquid helium, used to purge liquid hydrogen circuits and ensure the safe pressurization of tanks [8]. These functions are essential to guarantee the integrity of propulsion systems and prevent risks associated with cryogenic fuels.
According to NASA, helium is essential for:
purging hydrogen systems, a vital safety step to avoid explosions during fuel loading [8];
pressurizing propulsion fluid systems;
continuous operational support for the International Space Station, the SLS, and the Artemis programs [8].
This importance is also reflected in contracts and pricing structures. In 2022, NASA paid approximately 1,200 USD per mcf, a rate significantly higher than that observed in the private sector (approximately 450 USD/mcf) [1]. In shortage situations, helium tends to be rationed toward uses deemed most critical, particularly medical and certain key government uses [1], which intensifies pressure on other users.
Traditional Industrial Applications
Beyond high-technology sectors, helium remains indispensable for critical industrial applications that, while less publicized, are nonetheless essential to the proper functioning of many industries. These traditional uses represent a stable but significant share of global consumption.
Welding and Metallurgy
In the field of welding and metallurgy, helium offers unique properties that make it irreplaceable for certain specialized applications. Indeed, it creates a particularly stable inert atmosphere during the welding of sensitive materials such as aluminum or titanium. Notably, it allows:
uniform heat distribution, essential for avoiding metallurgical defects;
increased welding intensity, especially when mixed with argon;
reduced sparks and thermal instabilities.
High-Precision Leak Detection
Leak detection constitutes another strategic application where helium stands out for its small molecular size and chemical inertness. These properties allow it to easily penetrate microcracks and serve as a particularly effective tracer gas. Helium detection systems thus offer a high level of sensitivity, suited to industrial environments requiring rigorous tightness control.
This capability is leveraged in many sectors:
the pharmaceutical industry, to guarantee the integrity of sterile packaging, and the food sector, to verify container tightness;
the battery industry, to ensure the safety and reliability of lithium-ion cells;
critical components in the aerospace and medical sectors, where hermeticity is essential to the proper functioning of equipment.
Industrial quality control also relies on helium to perform sophisticated leak tests. Medical implants undergo rigorous checks to ensure their perfect hermeticity before implantation. The semiconductor industry uses helium to validate the integrity of sensitive electronic components. In the nuclear sector, where the slightest leak can have major consequences, helium contributes to verifying the integrity of containment systems with a high degree of reliability.
Emerging Applications and the Technological Future
The development of new technologies is giving rise to even more advanced uses of helium, heralding a further acceleration in demand by 2035.
Cryo-Compressed Hydrogen Storage
Cryo-compressed storage represents a promising technological pathway to increase the efficiency of hydrogen storage. According to the DOE, it allows for an approximately 90% increase in storage density compared to gaseous hydrogen [9]. In this perspective, this approach is of particular interest for energy applications requiring higher storage density.
Quantum Expansion
Quantum computing systems require extremely low temperatures, often a few millikelvins. Fermilab's Colossus project, one of the world's largest cryogenic refrigerators, illustrates this progression. The democratization of commercial quantum systems is also stimulating demand for helium-3, an extremely rare isotope.
New High-Tech Applications
New high-tech applications are constantly emerging, each adding its contribution to overall demand. Among the emerging fields:
5G/6G telecommunications;
advanced batteries;
next-generation superconducting materials.
Each of these innovations relies on conditions of purity, thermal stability, or cryogenics that only helium can provide.
Why Is Demand Growing Faster Than Supply?
The helium market faces a growing imbalance between the progression of industrial needs and available production capacity. This tension is explained by both the rapid diversification of technological uses and a global supply that remains concentrated in a limited number of countries.
On the demand side, analyses anticipate a near-doubling of global needs by 2035 [2]. This progression is based notably on:
the rise of semiconductors, whose demand for helium could increase fivefold by 2035 [6];
the growth of artificial intelligence and the digital infrastructures that depend on it;
the expansion of space, quantum, and certain technologies linked to the energy transition [2].
On the supply side, the market remains structurally vulnerable. Approximately 90% of global production currently comes from the United States, Qatar, and Algeria [1]. This concentration exposes supply to several vulnerabilities, notably:
the natural decline of certain American sources [1];
complications surrounding the Russian Amur project, reducing global supply by nearly 2 bcf/year [1];
the relatively slow pace of new extraction source development.
Reserve Alert
Reuters projections highlight that global reserves could shrink faster than expected [7]. Moreover, between 2024 and 2030, supply growth is expected to come almost exclusively from Qatar [1], further increasing geopolitical dependence. Faced with this imbalance, supply security and market volatility remain major challenges for many industries.
A Now-Strategic Resource
Far from its recreational image, helium is now established as a strategic resource essential to the functioning of contemporary technologies. More than 90% of global consumption is now destined for critical industrial applications, particularly in medical imaging, microelectronics, aerospace, cryogenics, and quality control. Its difficultly substitutable nature, combined with production concentrated in a limited number of countries, creates a structural vulnerability for many technological supply chains.
The structure of demand is evolving rapidly. Recreational uses are gradually declining, under the effect of rising prices and a better recognition of the gas's strategic value. This transformation confirms that helium has become a first-rate technological input.
Unlike many raw materials for which replacement solutions may emerge, helium's singular physical properties — notably its capacity to reach extreme cryogenic temperatures — strongly limit the available alternatives. This reality reinforces its particular status among critical natural resources.
In Quebec, Squatex Energy & Resources positioning itself among the players interested in the potential of critical and strategic resources, with a view to contributing to the evolution of energy and technology sectors.
References
[1] RBC Thought Leadership. Critical Minerals: Helium. RBC Capital Markets, 2024. https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/wp-content/uploads/Critical-Minerals-Helium.pdf
[2] IDTechEx. The Industrial High on Helium: Demand for Helium to Double by 2035. 2024. https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-article/the-industrial-high-on-helium-demand-for-helium-to-double-by-2035/31592
[3] Ken Research. Global Helium Market. https://www.kenresearch.com/global-helium-market
[4] Mordor Intelligence. Helium Market – Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2025-2030). https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/helium-market
[5] Discovery Alert. Helium Supply Crisis 2025: Global Impact Analysis. Discovery Alert Australia, 2025. https://discoveryalert.com.au/helium-supply-crisis-2025-global-impact/
[6] Data Centre Magazine. Why Semiconductor Growth Will Drive Helium Demand. 2024. https://datacentremagazine.com/technology-and-ai/why-semiconductor-growth-will-drive-helium-demand
[7] Reuters. Helium Demand to Double by 2035 Tracking Chip Production Boom. 2024. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/helium-demand-double-by-2035-tracking-chip-production-boom-report-says-2024-09-09/
[8] NASA. NASA Awards Contract for Liquid Helium Acquisition at Kennedy. 2023. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-awards-contract-for-liquid-helium-acquisition-at-kennedy/
[9] U.S. Department of Energy. H2IQ Hour: Cold and Cryo-Compressed Hydrogen Storage R&D and Applications: Text Version. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, 2020, https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2iq-hour-cold-and-cryo-compressed-hydrogen-storage-rd-and-applications-text-version
