# Helium: Characteristics

The gas with the lowest boiling point of any element

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/characteristics/

What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).

#### Supply volume characteristics

| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Current production volume** | about 190 million m3 (about 32,000 t) in 2025e; 183 million m3 in 2024 | US 81, Qatar 63, Russia 18, Algeria 11, Canada 6, China 3 and Poland 3 million m3 in 2025. Mass derived from USGS conversion (27.737 m3 = 0.0047 t). | USGS MCS 2026, Helium |
| **Inventory and stock levels** | underground storage in three Texas locations; new Beaumont cavern online in 2025; volumes not published | USGS lists no government stockpile in 2026, so US storage is now private. A Beaumont, Texas cavern began storing excess production in 2025. Liquid helium in transit boils off at about 1% a day, which limits stocks held as liquid. | USGS MCS 2026; ISIS/BCC slides citing Linde |
| **Capacity utilisation** | not published | No global rate is published. Russia's Amur plant has run below design since a 2021 fire and sanctions; Qatar's plants follow LNG output. Six new US operations started in 2025, plus new plants in Canada and South Africa. | USGS MCS 2026; Physics Today 2023 via content_v2 |
| **Geographic and producer concentration** | US about 43%, Qatar 33%, Russia 9%; top-3 about 85%; HHI about 3,050 (2025, derived) | Derived from USGS 2025 country output. Company concentration is high: ExxonMobil's Shute Creek alone supplied about 20% of world helium (2023), and QatarEnergy runs Qatar's output. | USGS MCS 2026; Physics Today 2023 via content_v2 |
| **Supply elasticity** | low short-run; medium long-run (3-7 years for new plants) | Helium is a by-product of gas processing, so output follows gas and LNG decisions. New dedicated helium wells are adding small volumes. Rising prices (Grade-A base about $12/m3 in 2025 plus surcharges) are drawing exploration. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Project pipeline and CapEx** | Qatar up to 42 million m3/yr (about 2027); Amur 21-42 million m3/yr if ramped; Blue Spruce 22 million m3/yr (2028) | Qatar's LNG expansion includes a further helium plant; Gazprom's Amur depends on sanctions; Blue Spruce Minerals targets a plant next to Shute Creek. Several non-hydrocarbon helium projects are in exploration worldwide. | Physics Today 2023 via content_v2; USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Logistics and export flows** | exports worth $1.83 billion and imports $3.08 billion (2024); US 29.5% and France 18.5% of exports | Liquid helium travels in 40-ft cryogenic ISO containers; about 25% is lost to boil-off and transfers between plant and user (Linde). The Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint for Qatari helium. EU and US bans on Russian helium continued in 2025. | UN Comtrade 2024; USGS MCS 2026; ISIS/BCC slides citing Linde |

#### Material characteristics Energy commodity

Helium is an inert, very light gas with the lowest boiling point of any element. That makes it irreplaceable for cooling superconducting magnets (MRI, research, quantum computers) and useful for semiconductor and fibre-optic atmospheres, leak detection and lifting. Purity grade and delivery form (liquid or gas) set price and use.

| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Purity / grade** | Grade-A at least 99.997% He; gaseous over 98%; crude 60-80% | Grade-A is the traded commercial product; crude is an intermediate | USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Boiling point** | about 4.2 K (-269 °C) | Only coolant for superconductors below about 14 K; no substitute below -429 °F | USGS MCS 2026 (substitutes); standard value |
| **Density** | about 0.17 kg/m3 at 15 °C (27.737 m3 = 0.0047 t) | Lifting gas; also why it escapes to space once released | USGS MCS 2026 (conversion) |
| **Liquid to gas ratio** | 1 litre of liquid about 0.75 m3 of gas (indicative, derived from 0.125 kg/L liquid density) | Sets shipping economics and boil-off cost | Derived; liquid density indicative from handbook |
| **Concentration in source gas** | commercially from a few tenths of a percent to a few percent He in natural gas | Determines whether a helium unit is economic at a gas plant | content_v2 (USGS context) |
| **Inertness** | Chemically inert, non-flammable | Safe shielding gas for welding and inert atmospheres in chip fabs | USGS MCS 2026 (uses) |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/criticality/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/links/index.md)