Qatar’s giant Ras Laffan plant, which produces the gas, has shut down production after Iranian missile and drone strikes.
And the Qatar government has warned it will take three to five years to repair the damage, raising fears about supplies.
In 2023, the US Semiconductor Industry Association warned of “price spikes” if global helium supplies were disrupted, external.
Analysts have warned , externalthe knock-on impact of the Hormuz blockage could be an increase in the prices of a host of cutting-edge technologies, from smartphones to data centres.
And Prashant Yadav, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, has warned , externalMRI prices could be driven up by prolonged helium shortages.
“MRI machines require somewhere between 1,500 to 2,000 liters helium to cool the magnets. Every time you do a scan, a little bit of that boils off or evaporates.
“People like to think helium’s predominant use is in data centers, semiconductors and cooling for the AI and data industry. But we can’t forget that helium is quite important for MRIs and for other medical users,” he told BBC Verify.