Helium: Criticality

Why Europe lists helium and the US does not

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	Low	–	5.4%	29.5%	+$372.2 m	No	Largest producer (81 million m3 in 2025) and a net exporter, but the EU and US kept import bans on Russian helium and the federal reserve has been sold to Messer (USGS 2026; E&E News 2024).
EU	High	–	34.9%	39.0%	−$361.6 m	Yes	Has little output beyond Poland (3 million m3), imports 94% at the processing stage, mostly from Qatar and Algeria, and lists helium as critical (EU CRM 2023; USGS 2026).
India	High	–	1.9%	0.2%	−$55.1 m	No	Has no production listed by USGS and depends fully on imports; helium is not on India's 2023 critical list.
China	High	–	14.2%	3.9%	−$366.5 m	No	Produces about 3 million m3 (USGS 2026) and is the second-largest importer by value (14.2% of world imports in 2024, Comtrade).
Japan	High	–	6.1%	0.0%	−$187.8 m	No	Has no production listed by USGS and took 6.1% of world import value in 2024 (Comtrade), mostly for chips, MRI and research.
Latin America	High	–	2.9%	0.1%	−$88.0 m	no list	No helium production listed by USGS (2026); the region imports through industrial gas distributors.
Middle East	High	–	1.9%	0.1%	−$57.9 m	no list	Qatar is the second-largest producer (63 million m3 in 2025) from its LNG trains and holds 10.1 billion m3 of resources; shipping runs through the Strait of Hormuz (USGS 2026).
Australia	Low	–	0.7%	0.0%	−$21.8 m	No	Has no production listed by USGS (2026) and imports its needs.

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: n/a. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

The EU lists helium as critical, with economic importance of 2.9, supply risk of 1.2 and 94% import reliance at the processing stage. It is not on the US 2025 or India 2023 lists. The United States is a net exporter. Below about -429 degrees Fahrenheit nothing substitutes for helium, which makes MRI and quantum research dependent on it. Pitron recalls that in the 1930s the United States, then the sole producer, embargoed helium sales to Germany.

EU 2023 Critical US 2025 list No India 2023 list No

EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance

Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Helium: supply risk 1.2, economic importance 2.9. EU import reliance, processing 94% EU recycling input rate 2%

Substitutes

None for cryogenics below -429 F; hydrogen for some lifting; argon and hydrogen in diving; argon or nitrogen in welding