my country’s helium industry relies on imports, and the industry has huge development potential

Helium is the gas with the lowest boiling point currently known. It has the advantages of good stability, low solubility, and strong diffusibility. Due to its excellent physical and chemical properties, helium is an irreplaceable gas and is currently used in electronics, aviation, etc. Aerospace, healthcare, metal processing and other fields. In industry, there are four main helium production methods, namely ammonia synthesis method, natural gas separation method, uranium ore method, and air fractionation method. Among them, natural gas separation method is currently the only process that achieves industrial production.

Helium resources are unevenly distributed around the world, mainly concentrated in the United States, Qatar, Algeria and Russia. The above four countries account for about 90% of global helium resources. Helium resources are scarce in my country. The Weiyuan Gas Field in the Sichuan Basin is the first region in China to realize commercial utilization of helium, and it is currently the only helium field that adopts industrial mining. The current domestic annual helium production is only about 60,000 tons, which cannot meet market demand.

More than 90% of my country’s helium demand relies on imports, and high import costs limit the application of helium. At present, domestic helium is mainly used in fields such as magnetic resonance imaging, gas lift, analytical test applications, and welding, of which magnetic resonance imaging application demand accounts for 35%. Limited by the lack of helium resources, the current global helium market is highly concentrated and is mainly occupied by four companies: Air Liquide, Praxair (Linde), Iwatani Gas, and Air Products.

According to the “2021-2025 Helium Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospects Forecast Analysis Report” released by the Industrial Research Center, my country The demand for helium imports shows an increasing trend year by year. In 2019, domestic helium imports were approximately 4,220 tons. The main sources of imports were Qatar and the United States, of which Qatar accounted for approximately 60%. Although my country’s helium imports are increasing year by year, they are still unable to meet downstream demand. Therefore, there is huge potential for localization of helium in the future. The main reason why my country relies on imports of helium is that helium resources are relatively small, and it is difficult to extract helium from natural gas. The output is low and the production cost is high, which hinders the development of the domestic helium industry.

At present, domestic helium is mainly used in air conditioning maintenance, electronics, light, medical and other fields. Benefiting from the development of downstream industries, domestic helium market demand continues to rise. In 2020, my country’s helium demand will grow to 22.2 million cubic meters. According to According to the current development trend of the helium industry, my country’s helium market demand is expected to reach 58 million cubic meters by 2025.

Industrial analysts said that the application of helium in industry is irreplaceable and is an important scarce resource that affects The development of high-tech industries in the country. However, due to factors such as the scarcity of helium resources and the difficulty of the extraction process, my country relies on imported helium. Driven by the development of end-use industries, domestic helium imports are showing a growing trend. my country’s helium supply situation is severe, hindering the development of domestic defense and high-tech industries, so helium production has received great attention.