Helium

Roughly one-third of global helium supply is offline after March 2026 missile and drone strikes destroyed key production trains at Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility.1 Even when the situation in the Strait of Hormuz fully resolves, the supply damage will take years to repair. U.S. distributors are rationing supply and spot prices have skyrocketed. What’s Happening …

Helium has viable substitutes for some applications (welding blends, gas chromatography) with manageable trade-offs, but no real alternative exists for MRI cooling, leak detection, semiconductor production, and a handful of specialty welding and purging jobs. The helium market is one of the most volatile in industrial gas, with prices and availability swinging hard on supply …

Yes, helium is a noble gas. It is the lightest and smallest of the group. Why Is Helium a Noble Gas? Helium is considered a noble gas due to its electron configuration. It has two electrons perfectly filling its only shell, making it chemically satisfied and unwilling to react. This noble gas configuration of helium …