U.S. Adds Helium to Critical Materials List for Chipmaking Importance
WHO:
CBS News - The U.S. Energy Department designated helium a critical material.
CBS News - Energy Secretary Chris Wright said helium is essential to semiconductors and advanced technologies; he said the designation would help secure supply chains, create American jobs, and support U.S. leadership in energy and technological innovation.
ABC News - Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson, who oversees the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, said helium’s properties make it irreplaceable and that a supply failure could become a “single point of failure.”
ABC News - Columbia University’s Lenfast Center for Sustainable Energy director Greeshma Gadikota discussed helium recovery, climate impacts, and U.S. production and refining.
ABC News - Avanti Helium Corp., a North American gas exploration company, has urged the U.S. government to designate helium as a critical resource.
WHAT:
CBS News - The designation makes more federal financing available to helium producers. The Energy Department’s Federal Register announcement calls helium “non-substitutable for multiple critical energy functions,” including semiconductor manufacturing, natural-gas infrastructure leak testing, and quantum computing.
CBS News - The department’s list now contains 20 critical materials; its previous addition was metallurgical coal, used to make coke for steelmaking.
ABC News - The designation also means the government will monitor helium more closely. The United States produced 81 million cubic meters in 2025, 43% of global supply, and exported 38 million cubic meters.
ABC News - The United States has produced roughly 80 million cubic meters annually since 2021. Fluorine is the only other gas on the critical-materials list.
ABC News - Helium is used in semiconductors, wind, solar and nuclear energy, space exploration, medical imaging, research, quantum and supercomputing, and superconducting magnets.
WHERE:
CBS News - Iranian strikes hit Qatar’s Ras Laffan helium-producing facility; the Strait of Hormuz closure trapped about one-third of global helium supply in the Persian Gulf.
ABC News - Major U.S. helium reserves are in Wyoming, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Utah. Plants extracting the most helium as of 2023 were in Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma.
ABC News - The federal helium system was sold to industrial gas company Messer; a former federal stockpile was in Texas.
WHEN:
CBS News - The Energy Department announced the designation Friday. Iranian strikes on Qatar’s facility occurred in March, and the Strait of Hormuz closure began in February.
ABC News - Russia imposed temporary helium export controls in April. Congress mandated privatization of the national helium stockpile in 2013; the Bureau of Land Management completed the sale in 2024.
WHY:
CBS News - The department said critical materials must face high supply-chain disruption risk and serve an essential function in energy technologies.
ABC News - Qatar’s exports were curtailed by the Strait of Hormuz closure and Iranian strikes on infrastructure; the department said limited plant capacity and lengthy permitting and construction constrain U.S. production.
HOW:
ABC News - Helium is primarily produced as a byproduct of natural-gas processing. Robertson cited its non-combustibility and the lowest boiling point of any gas as distinctive properties.
ABC News - The U.S. Geological Survey included helium on its 2018 critical-minerals list but omitted it from later lists because domestic supply was considered secure.
(UPDATED October 23, 2026 21:15 UTC)
The U.S. Energy Department has designated helium a critical material, opening more federal financing for producers and closer monitoring of supply. The department says helium has a high risk of disruption and is essential to energy technologies, including semiconductor manufacturing, natural-gas leak testing and quantum computing. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says the move will help secure supply chains, create American jobs and support U.S. technological leadership. Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson says helium’s distinctive properties make it irreplaceable, and a shortage could create a single point of failure. Helium is also used in medical imaging, space exploration and energy systems, and is mainly produced during natural-gas processing. The United States produced 81 million cubic meters in 2025, about 43% of the global supply. But conflict and shipping disruptions have constrained Qatar’s exports, while limited plant capacity and lengthy permitting slow U.S. production. The department’s list now contains 20 materials.