Helium spot prices surge 70–100%
- QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan shutdown after Iranian attacks and Strait of Hormuz disruption knocked out about one-third of global helium supply in March. - Spot helium prices jumped 40% to 100% within weeks, while South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix accepted higher prices to lock supply. - Helium is hard to replace in chipmaking, from wafer cooling to etching and lithography, leaving fabs exposed to geopolitical chokepoints. (forbes.com)
Helium prices spiked after Iranian attacks and shipping disruption shut down QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan complex, cutting roughly one-third of global supply. (cen.acs.org) (cnbc.com) Ras Laffan halted production on March 2, and Chemical & Engineering News reported the site can extract and liquefy up to 17 metric tons of helium a day. (cen.acs.org) Forbes, citing Bank of America, said the outage removed an estimated 27% to 30% of global helium supply and pushed spot prices up 40% to 100% within weeks. (forbes.com) Helium matters to chip factories because it stays inert, moves heat fast, and slips through tiny spaces. Those traits make it useful for wafer backside cooling, leak checks, gas purging, and carrying gases in deposition and lithography tools. (forbes.com) (thelec.net) In plain terms, fabs use helium to keep wafers at stable temperatures while machines etch and build microscopic layers. Even small swings in purity or temperature can cut yields on advanced chips. (forbes.com) The risk is concentrated in Asia. CNBC reported that before the disruption, South Korea bought 55% of its helium from Gulf Cooperation Council countries, while Forbes put South Korea’s 2025 Qatar dependence at 64.7%. (cnbc.com) (forbes.com) Samsung Electronics and SK hynix responded by signing added long-term supply agreements with Linde and Air Products, both tied more closely to U.S.-sourced helium. The Elec said both companies accepted higher helium prices during the crunch. (thelec.net) TrendForce reported on April 8 that the crisis was showing signs of easing after a U.S.-Iran ceasefire tied to safe passage through Hormuz, but Ras Laffan was still largely offline. (trendforce.com) That left the market in an awkward middle ground: immediate panic had cooled, but buyers were still paying more and rewriting supply plans around a gas most consumers never see. (trendforce.com) (thelec.net)
