Is it necessary to buy or not to buy high-purity helium gas at such a high price?

Helium, liquid helium

The medical imaging community generally believes that liquid helium is crucial for the operation of superconducting MR systems. For this reason, MR manufacturers and system operators need to closely monitor the supply of high-purity helium gas, especially considering the increasingly volatile high-purity helium gas market in recent years, which has forced the new generation of MR systems to use high-purity helium gas more efficiently.

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Liquid helium is the coldest substance on Earth, with a boiling point of -452 degrees Fahrenheit (-269 degrees Celsius). Due to its very low temperature, it is used to cool the niobium titanium wire of superconducting MR magnets until the wire loses its resistance and becomes superconducting. After the superconducting magnet receives its initial liquid helium charge, the liquid helium cooling the niobium titanium wire gradually evaporates over time and must be replenished regularly. Although early MR magnets required replenishment every two months, the latest generation of magnets may only need to be replenished once a year. During periods of severe shortage of high-purity helium gas, the risk of delayed delivery of high-purity helium gas increases, increasing the risk of magnet quenching. When the magnet loses time, it causes image interference to the patient's movement during magnet repair or cooling to high-purity helium gas temperature, and the cost of replacing high-purity helium gas also increases.

From 2011 to 2013, high-purity helium experienced the most severe shortage in history. Over the past three years, the global supply of high-purity helium gas has decreased by an average of 20%, and major suppliers of high-purity helium gas have redistributed their supply to customers. Due to supply shortages, helium has become a seller's market, and the prices of helium suppliers have at least doubled. Meanwhile, the supply of high-purity helium gas is a headache for the original MR manufacturers, who have had many unpleasant experiences with high-purity helium gas suppliers. In early 2014, when Qatar began producing new sources of high-purity helium gas, shortages became a problem of oversupply.

In the first half of 2016 and 2017, the market was stable and the supply and demand balance was good. Since June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain have announced sanctions against Qatar, resulting in a relative shortage of helium supply and a nearly 30% reduction in global helium supply. Despite Qatar resuming production after a power outage of about three weeks, the high-purity helium market has remained relatively tight since then.

Due to increased seasonal demand and several factory maintenance power outages, the market experienced a supply shortage in February 2018. So what is the supply situation today? Since the end of this winter, two of the world's top five suppliers of high-purity helium have been distributing supplies to customers, while the other suppliers are experiencing shortages. The global high-purity helium supply chain is more 'fragile' than in the past, as the US government's federal high-purity helium inventory is nearing depletion and BLM crude high-purity helium pipelines and storage systems are no longer available.

Fortunately, due to the importance of helium in medicine, helium supply in the MR market takes priority over other applications such as balloons. Given the tight supply, high-purity helium will once again become a seller's market, and the price of high-purity helium will rise again. If you want to reduce the risk of supply disruptions, it's time to carefully study the supply mix of helium suppliers and consider multi-channel procurement.

Unfortunately, due to the sustained growth in demand for BLM crude oil, the supply capacity related to high-purity helium pipelines continues to decline, and it is expected that the high-purity helium market will remain tight in the coming years. It is expected that Qatar will enter the market before production resumes, during which the helium market may occasionally experience shortages, especially due to factory maintenance interruptions and reduced production. During this period, the price of high-purity helium may rise.