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13 min ago 3 min read
Industrial gases major Nippon Sanso will raise prices for all helium products in the Japan market from July, according to a report from Asian tech platform Digitimes Asia.
Average price increase will more than 30%, it reports. Nippon Sanso has been approached for comment.
Affected products include helium used in key applications such as semiconductor front-end process wafer cooling and medical magnetic resonance imaging equipment.
The increase covers all helium-related offerings, including cylinders, cradles, tankers, liquid helium, mixed gases, and specialty gases, the report added. The rises are a reminder of the lingering impact of the Middle East crisis, despite optimism around the recent .
Global supply constraints have exacerbated with the Middle East conflict, given Qatar accounts for a third of helium supply. More market uncertainty has arisen following the restart .
Depending on international supply conditions, Nippon Sanso has not ruled out responsive actions such as proactively adjusting allocation volumes or extending product lead times.
Industrial gas majors will be hoping supply equilibrium restores soon in the face of rising demand.
Air Products, for instance, expects its helium supply to electronics customers in Asia to more than double by 2030, as new assets come online and long-term supply agreements gather pace amid an AI-driven “super cycle” in semiconductor demand.
“This year, the industry is in the midst of a historical super cycle period to satisfy AI demands with rapid capex expenditures,” said CEO Eduardo Menezes during the company’s Q2 earnings call.
Speaking at the gasworld Specialty Gas Summit, Anish Kapadia, Founder, Akap Energy said China is one of the largest helium consuming regions and exporting more in recent months, as a result of export controls impacting Russia.
“China is taking more Russian helium and then re-exported it out in the market,” he said.
“The helium market is an opaque one, there isn’t a lot of information in terms of pricing and trade flows. Alongside traditional industries, semiconductors are taking over as the dominant user in the market and there’s new high-growth industries emerging such as space.”
The global helium market could swing in coming years as more projects come online.
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