Washington Designates Helium a Critical Material Amid Supply Constraints and Growing Global Demand
Key Facts
On October 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that helium had been added to the list of critical materials under the Energy Act of 2020, in a move aimed at strengthening the security of supplies needed for manufacturing. The department said global demand for the gas is growing faster than production, while refining and permitting constraints limit the United States’ ability to expand output. The decision is significant for the semiconductor industry: the department said helium’s properties make it essential to manufacturing semiconductors, with no viable alternatives available for many critical uses. The designation comes as disruptions to Qatari supplies and Russian export restrictions have constrained helium flows in markets. The listing enables greater federal funding for producers and closer government oversight of the material, according to The Associated Press.
The Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical material as a non-fuel material that serves an essential function in an energy technology and faces a high risk of supply-chain disruption, according to the department’s Federal Register notice. Helium’s inclusion reflects its roles in semiconductor manufacturing, natural-gas infrastructure leak testing and quantum computing, as well as medical and scientific applications. Assistant Energy Secretary Audrey Robertson told The Associated Press that helium “could be a single point of failure,” linking its security to U.S. competitiveness and energy security. The department added metallurgical coal, used in steelmaking, to its list in 2025, before helium was included. The new designation gives these uses a clearer place in federal supply considerations, while its practical impact will depend on available funding and producers’ ability to expand processing.
The Associated Press reports that Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on Qatari infrastructure constrained Qatar’s helium exports, while Russia imposed temporary export restrictions in April to protect domestic supplies. These developments highlight the market’s exposure to disruptions at production and export hubs, as global demand grows faster than production, according to the Department of Energy. The United States, however, is itself a major producer: it produced 81 million cubic meters in 2025, equivalent to 43% of global supply, and exported 38 million cubic meters, according to The Associated Press. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that U.S. sales of Grade A helium and gaseous helium totaled about 81 million cubic meters that year, valued at $970 million. Survey data show exports fell from 41 million cubic meters in 2024 to 38 million in 2025.
Despite the scale of U.S. production, abundant natural resources do not mean supply can be increased quickly. The Department of Energy said limited refining capacity and lengthy permitting processes constrain domestic production, while The Associated Press reported that U.S. helium extraction facilities are operating at capacity and that permits and the construction of new facilities take years. These constraints make expanding processing capacity and the infrastructure needed for production crucial to turning the designation into additional supply. Helium use in the chip sector remains part of industrial demand: the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that controlled atmospheres, fiber optics and semiconductors accounted for about 17% of U.S. helium use in 2025. The decision thus combines support for producers and market oversight on the one hand with the industry’s need for processing and production capacity that can respond to demand on the other.
The federal storage system provides context for U.S. government involvement in the helium market. Its facilities were in Texas, and the Bureau of Land Management completed the sale of the federal system to Messer in 2024. The sale followed Congress’s 2013 directive to privatize the system, according to The Associated Press. This background places the new designation within a policy course that combines federal management of strategically important materials with greater reliance on producers and commercial infrastructure. The market had also seen disruption in 2026: an earlier EL7 report on April 4 said the shutdown of Qatari facilities threatened global helium supplies to the semiconductor industry. The next step enabled by the designation is greater federal funding for producers and closer government oversight, though the announcement set no timetable for a new expansion or any specific increase in production.