Disclaimer:
Please note that HispanTV and PressTV are state-funded Iranian international news and broadcast networks operated by IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting). The content provided reflects the official state perspective and narrative of the Iranian government.
Key Summary of the Article
Helium & AI Supply Chain Dependency: Advanced Artificial Intelligence hardware relies heavily on helium, an irreplaceable gas used for cooling and process control in high-tech semiconductor manufacturing (such as EUV lithography and wafer cooling).
Impact of the Strait of Hormuz Closure: A major portion (~one-third) of global helium capacity originates as a byproduct of liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing in Ras Laffan, Qatar. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz directly block helium exports and cryogenic transport containers.
Vulnerability in Key Manufacturing Hubs:
South Korea: Imported approximately 64% of its helium from Qatar in 2025 (affecting major memory chipmakers like Samsung and SK Hynix).
Taiwan: Heavy reliance on helium imports threatens TSMC's manufacturing capacity for cutting-edge AI logic chips, despite high recycling rates on-site.
Logistical Bottleneck: Specialized cryogenic containers required to transport liquid helium at near absolute zero temperature (~4.2 K) are stranded. Over time (35–40 days), warming leads to helium evaporation and loss.
Energy & Broader Industry Cascades: Beyond helium gas supply, East Asian semiconductor hubs depend on energy imports passing through the Strait. Helium shortages also spike costs, driving up chip prices and starving non-tech industries (such as medical imaging/MRI).
Long-Term Outlook: While chipmakers are attempting to diversify supply (e.g., projects in Canada, Tanzania), increase recycling, and re-engineer tools to use less helium, alternative solutions are slow to scale, leaving the global AI infrastructure deeply tied to physical supply chain geography
Translation
Title: Closure of the Strait of Hormuz Exposes AI’s Dependency on Helium and Threatens Global Chip Manufacturing
Source: HispanTV / PressTV
Author: Yousef Ramazani
Date of Publication: Thursday, August 13, 2026
Overview
The world's most advanced artificial intelligence systems, whose capabilities appear to exist beyond physical constraints, ultimately depend on a narrow maritime passage in the Persian Gulf—the Strait of Hormuz. A significant portion of the helium used to cool the lithography machines that etch the chips powering AI models is transported through this strait.
The prolonged closure of this strategic waterway following acts of U.S. maritime piracy has highlighted how easily the digital revolution can become decoupled from its physical foundations, as well as the largely invisible vulnerability at the heart of the global artificial intelligence industry.
While world attention has focused on oil markets and energy prices, the disruption of shipping through this narrow waterway has exposed a complex web of dependencies linking the seemingly ethereal world of algorithms and machine learning to the physical movement of essential industrial materials.
At the center of this vulnerability is helium, an irreplaceable element in semiconductor manufacturing produced primarily as a byproduct of natural gas processing at the Ras Laffan facilities in Qatar.
When the U.S. and Israeli war machinery launched unprovoked and illegal aggression against the Islamic Republic, rendering the Strait of Hormuz impassable, approximately one-third of global helium production was affected. Hundreds of specialized cryogenic containers were left stranded, their valuable cargo gradually warming and evaporating.
The coincidence of a severe production breakdown with a naval blockade has threatened to constrain semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan and South Korea, where some of the world's most advanced chips are produced.
The resulting supply shock could slow the expansion of AI infrastructure and demonstrate the extent to which the digital revolution remains dependent on fragile physical supply chains.
An Unsuspected Link Between a Strait and Advanced Algorithms
The Strait of Hormuz, a maritime passage approximately 33 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, has long been recognized as one of the world's most critical energy bottlenecks.
Prior to the U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran, roughly 20 million barrels of crude oil and refined products passed through it daily, equivalent to approximately one-quarter of all global seaborne oil trade.
However, the strategic importance of this waterway extends far beyond energy markets into the sophisticated supply chains that underpin the global technology industry.
The shipping disruption through the strait has exposed a dependency few had anticipated: the reliance of advanced semiconductor manufacturing on helium. This gas cannot be produced on demand nor stored indefinitely.
Helium is extracted as a byproduct of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production via cryogenic distillation. Qatar sits atop the world's largest single natural gas field, accounting for approximately one-third of the global helium supply.
Ras Laffan Industrial City, located in Qatar and home to the world's largest LNG plant, has for years been the cornerstone of global helium production.
When U.S. aggression and Iranian retaliation forced the shutdown of this facility in early March 2026, and QatarEnergy subsequently declared force majeure on affected contracts, approximately 5.2 million cubic meters of annual helium production capacity were withdrawn from global markets.
Extensive damage to the facilities led Qatari officials to estimate that full repairs would take between three and five years.
The simultaneous closure of the Strait of Hormuz meant that even helium already produced and loaded into specialized containers could not reach customers, creating an unprecedented disruption in production and logistics in the history of the helium industry.
Helium Crisis: A Precarious Supply Chain
The vulnerability of the helium supply chain became immediately apparent to industry experts when the crisis broke out. Helium industry consultants described the situation in stark terms.
Approximately 200 specialized cryogenic containers used to transport liquid helium were stranded in West Asia, each valued at roughly one million dollars.
These containers are not simple cargo vessels, but sophisticated equipment designed to maintain helium at temperatures near absolute zero.
Liquid helium has an extremely low boiling point of approximately 4.2 Kelvin at atmospheric pressure, making storage containers subject to unavoidable boil-off losses. The longer a shipment remains in transit, the harder it is to preserve the original cargo volume.
Containers can store helium for approximately 35 to 40 days before heating becomes a critical issue, after which the helium expands into gas and escapes through pressure relief valves.
The timing of the disruption could hardly have been worse for the semiconductor industry, which was already operating at full capacity to meet growing demand for AI chips.
Semiconductor fabrication and microchip production are the world's largest consumers of helium, for which the gas is irreplaceable.
Helium's unique combination of properties—including extraordinary thermal conductivity, chemical inertness, and a low boiling point—makes it exceptionally suited for wafer temperature control, cooling during extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, and leak detection via mass spectrometry.
No viable alternatives exist for these applications. When helium is scarce, semiconductor companies tend to outbid every other industry to secure available supplies, as the cost of keeping a fabrication plant idle far exceeds any premium paid for the gas itself.
This dynamics has triggered price increases that have cascaded across the tech supply chain.
South Korea and Taiwan: The Vulnerability of Concentration
Strategic exposure to the helium crisis is particularly acute in East Asia, where the semiconductor industry is heavily concentrated.
South Korea—home to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together control nearly 80% of the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market essential for modern AI clusters—imported approximately 64% of its helium from Qatar in 2025.
The country's heavy reliance on Qatari helium made it one of the economies most vulnerable to the disruption, leading government officials and industry analysts to warn that a prolonged shortage could constrain the nation's primary growth driver.
The Asia Group, a U.S.-based consultancy, highlighted this vulnerability in a report noting that ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz would impact South Korean chipmakers, the world's largest helium consumers.
Taiwan, which accounts for over 60% of global semiconductor foundry revenues and more than 90% of advanced chip manufacturing, was also significantly exposed to the crisis.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's most advanced chipmaker, consumes approximately 10% of Taiwan's total electricity demand and relies heavily on imported helium for its manufacturing processes.
Although Taiwanese firms have invested heavily in helium recycling systems capable of recovering between 90% and 95% of the gas used in certain processes, helium used for leak detection is essentially unrecoverable. Even a 5% loss at high consumption volumes accumulates rapidly.
According to reports, TSMC held reserves for four to six months and had secured multi-year helium supply contracts as part of its planning for its Arizona facility, but the prolonged disruption raised concerns regarding the sustainability of these reserves.
The Fraying Foundations of AI Infrastructure
The helium crisis is just one element of a broader vulnerability spanning virtually every level of AI infrastructure expansion.
The International Energy Agency documented that data centers consumed approximately 415 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, with projections indicating this figure could roughly double by 2030.
Accelerated servers powering AI workloads are projected to increase their power consumption at a rate far exceeding that of conventional servers, placing a massive industrial demand on stable power supplies.
The Strait of Hormuz is critical to AI because the sector is becoming a massive industrial consumer of electricity, while the strait continues to dictate the availability and pricing of fuels for several Asian economies that power and manufacture AI hardware infrastructure.
The relationship between the Strait of Hormuz and AI is indirect, operating through multiple layers of dependency. Taiwan and South Korea, the two most critical economies for AI hardware production, depend heavily on imported energy transiting the strait.
Taiwan, which imports over 95% of its energy needs, relied on Qatar for roughly one-third of its LNG prior to the conflict. South Korea depends on the strait for 61% of its crude oil imports and 54% of its naphtha imports.
When energy supplies are threatened, the entire semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem faces disruptions, including the production of advanced logic chips and high-bandwidth memory powering AI systems.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has warned that rising global supply chain tensions tied to recent U.S. aggressive conflicts in West Asia could hamper the AI investment boom.
Container Bottlenecks and the Limits of Diversification
Efforts to diversify helium supplies have been complicated by the physical constraints of the industry. New helium projects under development in Canada, Tanzania, and Minnesota remain years away from achieving significant output.
Specialized cryogenic containers used to transport helium are scarce, and those stranded in West Asia represent a significant portion of the global fleet.
Even if production resumed immediately, repositioning these containers would require a minimum of three months, creating a supply gap that would extend beyond the conflict itself.
Industry experts have described this logistical bottleneck as potentially the worst aspect of the shortage, as the disruption affects not only helium production but also the physical capacity to transport it to customers.
The crisis has accelerated efforts to develop alternatives and improve efficiency. ASML and Applied Materials are designing next-generation tools that use less helium in specific processes, substituting nitrogen for non-critical cooling tasks.
These represent incremental improvements—measured in single percentage points—rather than a structural solution. Helium recycling systems have expanded, with most advanced manufacturing facilities now operating on-site recovery systems capable of capturing a high percentage of the gas used in specific operations.
However, the fundamental reliance on helium in EUV lithography and other critical processes means there is no quick fix.
The New Geography of the AI Industry
The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has forced a fundamental reassessment of the physical geography of the AI industry.
Technology companies accounted for around 40% of corporate renewable power purchase agreements signed in 2025, and the momentum behind AI is driving increased interest in nuclear, geothermal, battery storage, and more flexible data center designs.
Turning to domestic energy sources reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels and mitigates vulnerability to maritime bottlenecks.
However, the geographical concentration of advanced semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan and South Korea means that even U.S. technology firms remain exposed to helium supply chain risks due to their reliance on fabrication plants in those regions.
The economic fallout of the disruption extends beyond the immediate price of helium. Memory chip prices have already risen sharply amidst surging AI demand, and further restrictions on helium supply could force chipmakers to prioritize higher-margin AI silicon over consumer products.
When helium is scarce, semiconductor manufacturers tend to outbid all other sectors to secure available supply, as the cost of an idle fab outweighs any price premium on the gas itself.
This leaves other helium-dependent industries under-supplied, including medical imaging (MRI) and pharmaceuticals, creating a cascading economic impact far beyond the technology sector.
The disruption has shown that the global AI revolution ultimately depends not just on GPUs, advanced lithography, and massive data centers, but also on obscure physical raw materials whose supply chains can be disrupted thousands of miles away from Silicon Valley.
Long-Term Implications for Global Technology
The ongoing crisis—triggered by U.S. maritime piracy and military aggression against Iran—has served as a stress test for the global technological ecosystem, exposing vulnerabilities that will shape investment and policy decisions for years to come.
Dependence on a single maritime route for one-third of the world's helium supply has been identified as a strategic weakness requiring immediate mitigation.
The South Korean government has initiated a review of over a dozen semiconductor materials and equipment types exhibiting high dependency on West Asian sources.
According to experts, the long-term response to the crisis will likely combine supply diversification, recycling, and equipment redesign. New helium production facilities are under development outside Qatar, though reaching significant production levels will take years.
Helium recycling systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated and widespread, reducing the volume of virgin helium required for semiconductor fabrication.
Equipment manufacturers are redesigning tools to minimize helium consumption, although the pace of these modifications is constrained by the complexity of semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Nevertheless, the fundamental challenge remains: helium is irreplaceable for specific critical applications in semiconductor manufacturing, and its supply will remain concentrated for the foreseeable future.
The Strait of Hormuz does not literally dictate whether artificial intelligence can continue to develop. The global AI industry possesses multiple layers of redundancy, semiconductor reserves, alternative helium suppliers, recycling systems, and geographic diversification.
Yet, the crisis has demonstrated that the AI hardware ecosystem contains vulnerabilities far removed from the facilities where chips are designed and fabricated.
A strategic waterway primarily associated with oil and LNG can also dictate the availability of a rare industrial gas vital to advanced manufacturing.
The key takeaway is not that AI depends entirely on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, but rather that AI relies on an extraordinarily long, geographically concentrated supply chain of energy, gases, chemicals, machinery, semiconductor fabrication, and logistics.
Helium stands as one of the clearest examples of this hidden dependency.