Global Helium Shortage Impacts Indian Healthcare, Semiconductor, and Aerospace Sectors

Key facts

• Supply disruptions from Qatar, one of the largest global producers, have caused helium spot prices to double since the start of the West Asia crisis.
• Liquid helium is critical for healthcare diagnostic chains as it cools superconducting magnets in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners to temperatures below 4.15 Kelvin (-269°C).
• In semiconductor manufacturing, helium is used for cooling lithography, etching, and deposition equipment and maintaining stable thermal and vacuum conditions in advanced fabrication facilities.
• The aerospace sector utilises helium to pressurise fuel tanks, ensure consistent fuel flow to rocket engines, and maintain internal tank pressure as fuel and oxidisers are consumed.
• Impacted Indian entities include Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Vedanta, Dixon Technologies, and diagnostic firms such as Dr. Lal PathLabs and Thyrocare Technologies.