Helium and the US Critical Minerals List: Time for Reassessment
- 22 hours ago
- 4 min read
Helium was removed from the US Critical Minerals List in 2022 based on government data that materially overstated US helium exports and understated supply risk. AKAP Energy’s independent analysis showed actual US exports were likely less than half of reported levels — a data error that materially distorted the USGS assessment. With one‑third of global helium supply now disrupted, the consequences of that decision are no longer theoretical. Attached is a selection of articles that AKAP Energy has written on the topic of helium being removed from the US Critical Mineral List and the quality issues with the widely used data on the US helium market.
Link to AKAP Energy’s Comment to the US Government:
Designation as a “critical mineral” carries significant weight. It can:
(i) unlock access to federal funding, R&D grants, and tax incentives;
(ii) enable streamlined permitting for new projects; and
(iii) shape U.S. trade policy, stockpiling, and investment priorities.
Helium’s exclusion from the list ensures helium projects will not benefit from these pathways. We believe that it is a short-sighted and ignorant decision especially after the numerous comments from large industry players who explicitly stated the dire need to have helium on the critical mineral list and ensure stability in supply chains across industries.
Helium was included on the 2018 US Critical Minerals List but removed in the 2022 update following the USGS 2021 assessment, which concluded it did not meet thresholds for supply risk and economic importance. Subsequent US government assessments have continued to omit helium from critical materials classifications. It led to a huge uproar through the industry because of the ongoing helium shortage. Multiple consumers and suppliers submitted comments asking the USGS to reverse the decision. In August 2025, the USGS released its draft 2025 Critical Minerals List, naming 54 commodities of strategic importance to the United States. A notable omission remains helium. Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member John Barrasso has said, "By removing uranium and helium from the critical minerals list, President Biden has signalled he accepts Russia’s control over these resources."
The Energy Act of 2020 defines a “critical mineral” as a non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the economic or national security of the United States and whose supply chain is vulnerable to disruption. Such minerals typically serve indispensable roles in manufacturing and strategic applications, where their absence would have significant economic or national security consequences.
We breakdown these points and show that helium should qualify as a critical mineral based on this criteria:
“essential to the economic or national security of the U.S.” – Helium is vital to main critical industries such as semiconductor manufacturing in the US, defence, needed for MRI machines to function, critical university research and for rocket launches to name a few.
“supply chain vulnerable to disruption” – The supply chain has been shown to be clearly susceptible to disruption with the Qatar outage. This is not new, the largest supplier Qatar (1/3 of the global market), has been impacted by blockades in the past in 2017 and had been subject to continued Middle Eastern unrest. The US’ largest helium producer, La Barge in Wyoming accounts for 25% of the market – therefore a disruption to this plant for unplanned downtime will have a huge impact on the market. The sale and depletion of the Federal Helium Reserve, and concentration of supply in a handful of countries underscore helium’s supply chain fragility in the US. Outside of the US, helium production is dependent on LNG production, so if LNG production falls from a particular country, helium production will too. Finally, the most significant new supply coming to the market is from Amur in Russia, where there has been a plant explosion not to mention the political risk of relying on Russia where significant sanctions remain in place.
“essential function in the manufacturing of a product” – Helium is clearly critical in the manufacturer of semi-conductors, MRI machines, airbags and fibre optic cables. These plants cannot function without helium.
“the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security” – Semiconductors are vital for many parts of the US economy and having a reliance on imports will also impact national security. The inability to manufacture cars due to an absence of semiconductors or airbags is another impact. Helium is also consumed by the defence industry.
The report states:
"This set of materials excludes indirect materials that are used in manufacturing processes but that do not contribute to the physical composition of components or final products. For example, helium is used in cooling, cleaning, and creating an inert environment for semiconductors, but it is not a physical constituent of semiconductors. While a disruption in the helium supply chain can impact semiconductor production, the scope of this assessment does not extend to indirect materials."
2021-2022: US exporter data demonstrating US overstates exports: data reported by US versus data reported by aggregated importers
2023: Adjusted US exports vs AKAP estimates of US exports from importing partners
2024: US Exports to Canada (mmcf): Revised after AKAP Energy’s Corrections
