Helium resources are scarce and the industry has huge development potential

Helium is a non-renewable resource. Due to its good thermal conductivity, good permeability and stable properties, helium can be used in special fields such as aerospace, military industry, and medical care. It is an important resource for the development of national defense and high-tech industries. Helium is unevenly distributed around the world, mainly concentrated in the United States. Although helium has been mined in the United States for many years, helium reserves still account for about 40% of the world’s total reserves.

In 2021, the global helium resources are 522×108 cubic meters, of which the United States accounts for 41%, followed by Qatar with 20%, Algeria in third place with 15%, and China’s resources It is relatively low, accounting for less than 5% of the world.

According to the “2022-2026 Helium Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospects Forecast Analysis Report” released by the Industrial Research Center, the benefits Driven by the development of military industry, aviation and other fields, the demand for helium is relatively high. Looking at global helium demand in the past five years, global helium demand is relatively stable, with demand around 1.9×10.8 billion cubic meters. However, in terms of production, global helium production has continued to decrease in the past five years, from 1.7×10.8 billion cubic meters in 2017 to 1.6×10.8 billion cubic meters in 2021.

Globally, North America is the main supplier of helium resources, while the Asia-Pacific region is the main demand area due to scarcity of helium resources. Globally, it is expected that helium extraction plants will be established in the next five years, such as AGPP, He1ium One, Ras Laffan-3, etc. Helium production will continue to rise in the future and will be able to meet market demand.

my country’s helium market demand relies on imports, and the demand is relatively high, accounting for about 12% of the total global helium demand. With the development of domestic military, aerospace and other industries, helium demand still maintains rapid growth. In terms of imports, my country’s helium imports showed a decreasing trend from 2018 to 2021, decreasing from 2000×104 cubic meters/a to 2066×104 cubic meters/a. In terms of production, with the improvement of extraction technology, my country’s helium production has increased, reaching 60×104 cubic meters/a in 2021. my country’s helium production is low, and market demand is highly dependent on imports, with imports accounting for about 97%.

There are a large number of helium import companies in my country, and most of them are foreign-funded companies, accounting for about 80%. At present, the main helium companies include Linde, Air Liquide, Air Chemicals, Iwatani, Guangzhou Iron and Steel Gas, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Shanghai Jiyang Technology, etc. Among them, Linde has the highest proportion, reaching 22%, and local companies are Guangzhou Iron and Steel Gas and Shanghai Jiyang Technology, the two together account for about 16%.

Industry analysts said that in China, helium is mainly used in controlled atmospheres, detection gases, low-temperature applications, welding protective gases, etc. fields, of which the proportion of atmosphere-based applications reaches about 55%. Affected by factors such as the rational correction of the helium market and the new crown epidemic from 2019 to 2021, my country’s helium consumption continued to decrease, reaching 21 million cubic meters by 2021. Domestic helium demand is mainly concentrated in provinces and cities such as Jiangsu, Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang.