TL;DR: The U.S. Department of Energy on October 23, 2026 designated helium as a critical material under the Energy Act of 2020 because it is indispensable for semiconductor manufacturing and faces growing supply risk.
DOE makes helium the 20th critical material
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on October 23, 2026 that Secretary of Energy Chris Wright had designated helium as a critical material under the Energy Act of 2020, according to the Department of Energy.
The action advances the Trump Administration's effort to reduce reliance on foreign sources of critical materials, strengthen domestic manufacturing, support American jobs and secure materials tied to economic and national security, the department said.
In a statement released by the department, Wright said the manufacturing revival requires domestic access to inputs, stating:
“President Trump is bringing back America's manufacturing industry, and that means making sure we have the materials needed to build things in America again.”
The department said DOE determined that helium meets the statutory definition of a critical material because of its essential role in American manufacturing and growing exposure to supply chain risks.
Helium becomes the 20th critical material identified by DOE, according to AP News. Metallurgical coal used for steelmaking was the last addition, in 2025. Fluorine is the only other gas on the list.
What critical-material status changes
The designation means more federal financing will be available for helium producers and that the government will monitor helium more closely, according to AP News.
Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson said DOE is taking decisive action to ensure American manufacturers have reliable access to helium, according to the Department of Energy. Robertson oversees the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.
Robertson said the department is committed to strengthening the supply chain for materials essential to economic and job growth, energy dominance and U.S. leadership in cutting-edge technologies such as SI and semiconductors.
The department said global demand for helium is growing faster than production, increasing supply risks for American manufacturers. It also said limited refining capacity and lengthy permitting timelines continue to constrain U.S. production despite abundant domestic resources.
To qualify for the list, a non-fuel mineral element or substance must serve an essential function in one or more energy technologies and face a high risk of supply-chain disruption, according to AP News.
Why semiconductors are central to the decision
DOE said helium's unique properties make it indispensable to semiconductor production, with no viable substitutes in many critical applications, according to the Department of Energy.
The United States has significant domestic deposits of helium-rich natural gas to support growing industrial demand, the department said.
Robertson emphasized helium's role beyond familiar consumer uses. She said helium's properties, including that it is non-combustible and has the lowest boiling point of any gas, make it irreplaceable in key technologies, according to AP News.
She said the nation needs ample supply for semiconductors, quantum and super computing, and superconducting magnets.
In an interview cited by AP News, Robertson described helium as a potential single point of failure for domestic technology manufacturing, adding that the importance lies less in celebratory uses than in American competitiveness and energy security.
The designation reflects helium's essential role in semiconductor manufacturing and advanced energy technologies, according to the Department of Energy.
Helium's wider role in energy, space and medicine
Helium plays an important role in wind, solar and nuclear energy production, space exploration, medical imaging and research, according to AP News.
Although helium makes balloons rise, DOE's interest centers on industrial and scientific functions rather than novelty uses.
The gas supports fabrication environments where purity, thermal control and inert conditions matter. In energy systems, it is associated with generation technologies and research infrastructure.
Medical imaging is another major category. Magnetic resonance systems and research magnets depend on extremely low-temperature cooling, a function linked to helium's thermal characteristics described by DOE officials.
Space programs and laboratories also use helium across testing, pressurization and research applications included in the broader energy-technology portfolio cited for critical-material eligibility.
How helium is produced and who supplies it
Helium is primarily produced as a byproduct of natural gas processing, according to AP News.
The United States is the world's largest producer of natural gas and of helium. Qatar and Russia are the other top helium producers.
That production structure ties helium availability to natural gas markets, processing capacity and investment in separation and refining. Because helium is recovered during gas processing rather than mined on its own in most cases, output does not always respond quickly to helium demand alone.
The department said the United States holds significant helium-rich natural gas deposits, but added that refining limits and permitting delays restrict conversion of that resource into finished supply.
Some in the helium industry have urged formal designation as a critical resource. North American gas exploration company Avanti Helium Corp. has said increased North American supply is needed to avoid dependence on foreign sources, according to AP News.
Why foreign supply disruptions matter now
Exports of Qatar's helium supply have been severely curtailed by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of its war with Israel and the U.S., according to AP News. Iranian strikes on Qatar's infrastructure have also impacted supply.
Russia imposed temporary export controls on helium in April to protect its domestic supply, according to AP News.
Those developments illustrate the type of disruption risk DOE cites in critical-material decisions. When two of the three leading producers face export constraints at the same time, buyers and manufacturers face tighter markets and greater price and availability uncertainty.
DOE said global helium demand is growing faster than production, a trend that magnifies the effect of any regional interruption.
The department framed domestic manufacturing and supply-chain security as the central motivation for acting now rather than waiting for additional interruptions.
U.S. output, reserves and refining limits
The U.S. produced 81 million cubic meters of helium in 2025, or 43% of the global supply, according to AP News. Of that amount, 38 million cubic meters was exported.
The U.S. has produced roughly 80 million cubic meters of helium annually since 2021, according to AP News.
There are large helium reserves in Wyoming, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Utah. The plants extracting the most helium, as of 2023, were located in Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma, according to federal data cited by AP News.
Although resources are abundant, extraction plants are operating near their limits and new facilities take years to permit and build, a constraint DOE also highlighted.
Greeshma Gadikota, director of the Lenfast Center for Sustainable Energy at Columbia University, discussed both environmental concerns around recovering helium from natural gas and possible lower-emission pathways, according to AP News. She noted carbon dioxide emissions from burning natural gas, while helium use itself does not necessarily create greenhouse-gas emissions.
Gadikota said she would prefer natural gas to be used in ways that directly produce hydrogen and solid carbon, noting hydrogen as a clean-burning fuel and solid carbon as a possible form of permanent sequestration.
From federal stockpile to closer monitoring
There used to be a strategic national stockpile in Texas for helium, similar in concept to America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to AP News.
Congress mandated in 2013 that it be privatized. The Bureau of Land Management completed the sale of the federal helium system to industrial gas company Messer in 2024.
That history helps explain the current policy shift. The United States previously treated domestic helium supply as secure enough to exit direct federal ownership.
The U.S. Geological Survey included helium on a 2018 list of critical minerals, but later lists omitted it because domestic supply was considered secure, according to AP News.
The new determination reaches a different conclusion about risk. DOE points to rising demand, foreign interruptions, refining bottlenecks and permitting timelines as reasons for formal monitoring and financing support under its critical-materials authority.
Federal financing access and closer government monitoring do not by themselves build new plants, but industry supporters say the signal can justify investment in U.S. production, refining, recovery and use capabilities.