Helium Is a Strategic Chokepoint

The U.S. Energy Department has designated helium a critical material because it is essential for semiconductors, superconducting magnets, quantum computing and some energy technologies while global production is concentrated and exposed to disruption. The move unlocks federal financing and monitoring and forces policymakers to weigh industrial needs, supply diversification and the climate tradeoffs of helium recovered from natural gas. — Framing helium as a strategic resource reframes semiconductor and energy policy debates: it creates a new axis for industrial policy, trade leverage, and decarbonization tradeoffs that will shape markets and geopolitics.