Helium is the one element that leaves the planet. It takes hundreds of millions of years to form underground, and once released it drifts up and away. Seven countries produce almost all of it, and it is the only thing that cools an MRI magnet.
That's how much helium Earth's atmosphere loses to space every second, mostly through the "polar wind." Over a year it comes to about 1,600 tonnes.
Atmospheric-escape estimate · annual total derived (50 g × 31.6 M s)Helium boils at 4.2 kelvin, colder than any other substance. Below about 18 K, USGS says, nothing can replace it.
Normal boiling points at 1 atm, kelvin. Darker = colder. MRI magnets sit in a bath of liquid helium at about 4 K to stay superconducting.
For three years USGS estimated Grade-A helium at $7.57 per cubic meter. By 2023 it was $14. In 2025 it eased back to $12.
USGS estimated base price, private-industry Grade-A helium (≥99.997%), US$ per m³. Producers add surcharges, so delivered prices run higher.
Of an estimated 190 million m³ produced in 2025, the United States and Qatar supplied 144 million, or 76%.
Million m³, 2025 estimates (USGS MCS 2026). South Africa's first plant opened in 2025 with output under 0.5 million m³. Map is schematic, bubbles scaled by area.
US helium use in 2025 by share. Medical imaging alone took about one-seventh.
Share of US helium consumption, 2025 (USGS). "Analytical" covers lab, science, engineering and specialty gases. "Lifting gas" covers party balloons, weather balloons and airships.
Supply is concentrated, buyers can't easily switch, and the US government no longer holds a backstop.
The liquid helium in an average conventional MRI magnet, which has to be topped up over time. Philips counts about 50,000 helium-cooled scanners worldwide.
What the Treasury received in 2024 when BLM sold the Federal Helium System near Amarillo, Texas (reserve, pipeline and plant) to Messer, ending a century of US government helium storage.
Russian production more than tripled from 2020 to 2025 as its Amur plant came online. The US and the EU still ban imports of it.
Helium is 5.24 parts per million of the air, too dilute to collect at any sensible cost. What we use comes from natural gas fields.
Lifting gas is 17% of US use. A helium balloon let go is helium nobody gets back. Try air-filled or reusable decorations.
Recycling is still rare, USGS says, but closed-loop recovery is spreading. Labs and universities that capture boil-off can save most of what they buy.
Newer sealed magnets run on a few liters instead of 1,700. Hospitals choosing those designs cut their exposure to price spikes.
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