Marketplace · Monday, October 26, 2026
The Department of Energy added helium to its list of critical materials due to its high risk of supply chain disruption and essential nature for energy technologies like MRIs and microchips. Consultants point to supply pressures from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz cutting off Qatar.
“The Department of Energy has added helium to its list of critical materials, the qualifications for which are that said materials have to be both essential for an energy technology and at high risk of supply chain disruption.”
“The waters got choppy this year when the Strait of Hormuz closed, cutting off the second largest global supplier, Qatar.”