A looming helium shortage threatens global supply, but ancient rocks deep in Earth’s crust may be harboring enormous, previously hidden reservoirs.
In 1903, Dexter, Kansas residents gathered to celebrate a newly drilled natural gas well. The spectacle featured a blazing pillar of flame as officials had promised the escaping gas would ignite dramatically. Yet when a burning bale of hay was placed atop the well, nothing happened.
A 1905 analysis showed that most of the gas was nonflammable nitrogen, with only about 15% methane and just under 2% helium—a colorless, odorless element discovered only a few decades earlier. This marked the first recorded discovery of helium in a natural gas field.
Today, helium plays a critical cooling role in nuclear reactors, rockets, and medical imaging devices like MRI machines. It enables cooling for fiber optics, superconductors, quantum computers, and semiconductors. Yet soaring demand has strained supply chains, leading to a long-standing global shortage. Helium extraction also carries a substantial carbon footprint because it is currently produced alongside natural gas.
Recently, groundbreaking discoveries have reshaped scientists’ understanding of how helium accumulates geologically. Researchers have identified primary, “carbon-free” helium reservoirs—large pools of helium that are highly concentrated and do not contain methane—which could transform the industry.
These insights have sparked exploration efforts in select regions worldwide. From Yellowstone and Greenland to the East African Rift, a helium rush is forming to curb shortages and reduce helium’s sizable carbon footprint.
Pulsar Helium’s co-founder and CEO, Thomas Abraham-James, described the development as the birth of a new industry to Live Science.
Perfect Seals, Imperfect Yields
Following World War I, helium discoveries accelerated, and the United States became the leading producer. Gas wells with helium levels of 0.3% or higher were tapped to support growing industries and to stockpile helium in the Federal Helium Reserve in Amarillo, Texas. That stockpile was sold in 2024 to an industrial gas company.
Historically, helium has been produced as a minor byproduct, extracted in tiny amounts from natural gas such as methane-rich reserves.
This is because methane and carbon dioxide are necessary to transport helium from deep crustal rocks to shallower regions, according to Chris Ballentine, a geochemistry professor at Oxford.
Helium forms deep in the crust when uranium and thorium decay, emitting alpha particles that become helium atoms after acquiring electrons. These helium atoms migrate, accumulating in groundwater hundreds of meters below the surface.
However, for helium to form gas bubbles, the dissolved helium must reach a bubble point in the surrounding liquid. Helium in groundwater rarely achieves the necessary concentration, so it usually relies on other gases—like methane or CO2—to help transport it upward into geological traps. These traps are often natural gas fields, but helium can become trapped as well because many gas reservoirs have strong seals.
In some places, like Australia’s Amadeus Basin, helium and natural gas are sealed beneath thick salt caps, creating an ideal, impermeable barrier. Most locations, however, feature imperfect seals, allowing some helium to escape to the atmosphere. As a result, places with helium-bearing rocks routinely emit detectable helium if surveyed with sufficiently sensitive instruments.
Because helium is commonly found with natural gas, producers typically extract both together. But this approach has downsides. The indirect carbon footprint of the helium industry is substantial, and control over helium supply is concentrated in gas-rich regions, raising geopolitical concerns.
Global leadership has shifted in recent years. While the U.S. once dominated production, Qatar surpassed it in 2022, with Algeria and Russia also playing major roles. This reliance on external producers heightens risk amid geopolitical tensions.
Another challenge is the economics: separating helium from natural gas is profitable only when helium concentrations exceed certain thresholds. Some fields yield below these thresholds yet still produce helium in smaller, economically viable amounts depending on local methods and prices.
Groundbreaking discoveries
Data show that only a minority of U.S. natural gas reservoirs meet the threshold for economically useful helium—0.3% or higher—while concentrations above 7% are extremely rare. Yet in 2016, Tanzania’s Rukwa Rift Basin revealed a nitrogen-rich gas reservoir with up to 10.4% helium, surprising scientists because this gasfield did not contain hydrocarbons. This marked the first major confirmation of a hydrocarbon-free helium reservoir and intensified the search for similar deposits worldwide.
The Tanzania team, including Ballentine, Gluyas, and Abraham-James, used a petroleum-exploration mindset—looking for seeps—to identify helium pockets. Helium seeps are widespread and tricky to locate due to helium’s inert, odorless, and low-concentration nature.
Subsequent exploration around Minnesota near the Midcontinent Rift confirmed high helium concentrations in a hydrocarbon-free setting. Pulsar Helium drilled a second well and reported sustained helium concentrations around 7–8% with strong flow, establishing a robust path toward development. Additional drilling expanded the reservoir’s footprint.
Pulsar Helium is also pursuing a project in East Greenland, the first helium discovery on the island. Early seismic work and surface gas emissions suggest promising potential for helium and geothermal energy, which could reduce local fossil-fuel dependency.
In both Minnesota and Greenland, produced helium would be used domestically for MRI machines, semiconductor fabrication, and space ventures.
The U.S. helium supply has eased somewhat since early 2024 due to extra natural gas-derived supplies, but expanding domestic production would provide resilience against geopolitical disruptions that have historically driven shortages, according to Nicholas Fitzkee, a Mississippi State University chemist.
Beyond the Americas, Tanzania continues to host exploration efforts from Helium One Global and Noble Helium, which have reported elevated helium in wells but remain in early stages. The two companies emphasize that more drilling is needed to confirm reservoir size and potential.
Other opportunities lie in India’s Bakreswar-Tantloi geothermal region, where ancient granitic rocks rich in uranium and tectonic activity may yield helium-rich reservoirs. Closer to North America, Yellowstone National Park remains a subject of interest: helium could be accumulating near or beneath the park, though extreme temperatures and complex geology likely limit extraction prospects.
Experts caution that even where promising, the extraction of helium from such deep sources remains technically challenging and expensive. Yet the push to diversify supply continues, driven by a critical need for helium in high-tech industries.
Alternative strategies to address shortages include recycling helium and developing room-temperature alternatives to current helium-dependent technologies. While expanding domestic production helps, it is not a perfect or permanent fix—helium is a non-renewable resource, and large-scale synthesis has not been achieved.
Sascha, a UK-based Live Science staff writer, holds a biology degree from the University of Southampton and a science communication master’s from Imperial College London. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and Zoe. Outside writing, she enjoys tennis, bread-making, and exploring second-hand shops.
