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From Chips to MRIs, Iran War Puts Helium Users on Edge
- The ongoing US-Iran military conflict shuttered Qatar's Ras Laffan facility, removing roughly a third of global helium supply and shifting the market from oversupplied to undersupplied, Deutsche Bank analysts said.
- Helium serves as a critical byproduct of liquefied natural gas, essential for semiconductor manufacturing and cooling MRI scanner magnets, though its small molecular size limits long-term stockpiling.
- European nations, sourcing around 40% of their helium from Qatar, face potential diagnostic service disruptions, while Russia-to-China helium exports rose 60% in 2025, according to research organization CGEP.
- Prices have roughly doubled since the conflict began, as 5.2 million cubic meters of helium are removed from the market monthly, forcing hospitals to brace for restricted diagnostic capabilities.
- Recovery at the damaged Qatari facility could reportedly take up to five years, meaning global logistics must rely on rapid throughput as existing buffer stocks last roughly 45 days before boiling off.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Hormuz Issues Could Affect Helium Supply, Chip Making
The gas that makes party balloons float is now threatening to puncture the AI boom. A war-driven disruption in helium supply—an essential ingredient in making advanced computer chips—is raising alarms and prices across the semiconductor industry and beyond, the New York Times reports. Helium, mostly produced in the...
The shortage of helium that is affecting hospitals and diagnostic imaging centres in Europe has its origin in a combination of geopolitical, industrial and technological factors. Helium is a limited natural resource that is obtained mainly as a by-product of natural gas extraction, and its global production is concentrated in a few countries. Qatar is currently one of the main suppliers of the European Union, so that any disruption in its produc…
The crisis in the Middle East has catapulted the price of helium, a gas used in several key stages of chip production, including cooling, leak testing and precision manufacturing processes.
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