How the Qatar crisis shook up the world's supply of helium

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Here’s a great example of how interconnected supply chains in the world have become. Helium is an essential component in a surprisingly wide number of products – the fact that it is lighter than air and able to cool to incredibly low temperatures without freezing means it is used in the construction of semi-conductors, computer hard drives and the Large Hadron Collider, as well as scuba tanks and rocket fuel, amongst a variety of other applications including, of course, birthday balloons! However, the de facto closure of the land border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia has really hit the supply of helium, with Qatar responsible for some 25% of global output. This article from The Atlantic discusses the impact: “the supply chain of just one element touches so many industries—energy, medicine, electronics, rocketry—and the consequences can go far beyond the Gulf”, as well some possible solutions.