Energy Department adds helium to its Critical Material List

By Miriam Tolliver

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy has added helium to its Critical Material List, citing the gas’s role in semiconductor manufacturing, natural gas pipeline leak testing and quantum computing, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.

The department said helium is “non-substitutable for multiple critical energy functions” and is “essential to key medical/scientific applications.” It said demand is growing because helium “enables advanced semiconductor manufacturing,” which it called essential for data center supply chains.

The notice ties the designation directly to the administration’s artificial intelligence agenda. It says the action “directly supports the President’s policy goal” set out in America’s AI Action Plan, which the White House released in July 2025, and in the administration’s push to expand AI infrastructure. Building that infrastructure will require more semiconductor production, the notice says, which “supports the determination that helium is a DOE critical material.”

The notice was signed on Oct. 21 by Audrey Robertson, assistant secretary for the department’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, under authority delegated by the secretary of energy. The Inquisitor is seeking comment from the Energy Department.

What the designation means

The Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical material as a non-fuel mineral, element, substance or material that the energy secretary determines has a high risk of supply chain disruption and serves an essential function in one or more energy technologies.

DOE published its current list in an August 2023 final determination based on a July 2023 assessment. That list named 18 critical materials for energy, including aluminum, cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel and natural graphite. In May 2025 the department added metallurgical coal used in steelmaking. Helium is the second addition since the 2023 list.

The department posted an updated list graphic on its critical minerals and materials page. The notice says the assessment justifying the helium designation is available on that page.

Where U.S. helium comes from

The United States is the world’s largest helium producer and a net exporter, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2026 Mineral Commodity Summaries. USGS estimated U.S. production at 81 million cubic meters in 2025, out of world output of about 190 million cubic meters. Qatar was second at an estimated 63 million cubic meters, followed by Russia at 18 million and Algeria at 11 million.

USGS estimated U.S. sales of Grade-A and gaseous helium at $970 million in 2025. Exports were 38 million cubic meters and imports 8 million. Canada supplied 47% of U.S. helium imports from 2021 through 2024, followed by Qatar at 28%, Algeria at 10% and China at 5%.

By use, the agency said the largest U.S. category was analytical, laboratory, science and specialty gases at 22%. Controlled atmospheres, fiber optics and semiconductors accounted for 17%, as did lifting gas. Magnetic resonance imaging took 15%. USGS said nothing substitutes for helium in cryogenic applications that require temperatures below minus 429 degrees Fahrenheit.

USGS also reported that six new U.S. helium operations began producing in 2025, three in New Mexico and one each in Colorado, Kansas and Montana. U.S. and European Union sanctions banning imports of Russian helium remained in place.

The end of the federal reserve

The federal government ran its own helium program for nearly a century. Congress created it in 1925 for defense needs, and the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 required the Bureau of Land Management to sell off federal helium assets. BLM closed the sale of the Federal Helium System to Messer in June 2024. USGS now lists no government helium stockpile.

The notice does not announce funding or new programs tied to the designation.