Helium Price — China Factory EXW 2026

Helium price Spec: China national standards

China EXW, VAT excluded

Newest China EXW USD 67,644.25 / MT · VAT excluded +58343.3628 (627.00%) as of 20210323

Newest Price 67,644.25

Price Date 20210323

Day's Change +58,343.36

Day's Range 67,644.25 - 125,987.61

Month's Change -29,614.75

Month's Range 67,644.25 - 38,029.5

Year's Change +58,490.86

Year's Range 67,644.25 - 9,153.39

The technology export angle is underappreciated. China isn't just self-supplying; it's selling complete helium plants to Russia and African nations. That creates long-term supply r...

Also known as Einecs 275-187-7

Opinions

What does China's helium purification breakthrough mean for global supply dynamics?

The technology export angle is underappreciated. China isn't just self-supplying; it's selling complete helium plants to Russia and African nations. That creates long-term supply relationships and technical lock-in, similar to how US firms dominated for decades. Equipment makers, not just gas producers, are the hidden winners.

Why is China's helium import dependency reduction from 95% to 85% strategically significant?

The real game-changer is China's role as a purification and re-export hub. Even small volumes of 5N-6N helium shipped to Japan, Korea and Europe act as a global buffer. If China restricts exports, it hits semiconductor supply chains worldwide, turning a net importer into a price-setter rather than just a price-taker.

Helium price context

What drives Helium prices

What does China's helium purification breakthrough mean for global supply dynamics?: The technology export angle is underappreciated. China isn't just self-supplying; it's selling complete helium plants to Russia and African nations. That create...

Why is China's helium import dependency reduction from 95% to 85% strategically significant?: The real game-changer is China's role as a purification and re-export hub. Even small volumes of 5N-6N helium shipped to Japan, Korea and Europe act as a global...

How we assess Helium price

China factory / mainstream market EXW quotes (VAT excluded where shown) - not a single global public index

Regional and specification detail so buyers can compare like-for-like grades

Landed cost figures from our calculator are planning estimates, not a customs ruling

Overview

Helium (氦气, CAS 7440-59-7) is a colourless, odourless, inert noble gas with the lowest boiling point of any element, appearing as a gas at room temperature. It is a critical industrial gas used across high-tech manufacturing, medicine, and scientific research.

Semiconductors: serves as a carrier, protective, and purge gas in chip lithography, etching, ion implantation, and chemical vapour deposition.
Medical: used as a coolant for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) superconducting magnets.
Fiber optics: employed in the cooling and protection of fiber during the drawing process.
Leak detection: used as a tracer gas in helium mass spectrometer leak testing for battery, automotive, and vacuum systems.
Other: fills balloons, hard disk drives, and provides shielding in welding.

China is the world's largest helium consumer but historically relied on imports for over 85% of supply, mainly from Qatar, the US, and Russia. Domestic production is expanding through extraction from natural gas, LNG tail gas, and coalbed methane, with recent breakthroughs in purification technology reaching 6N (99.9999%) purity. In 2026, China imposed temporary export controls to prioritise domestic supply and accelerate self-sufficiency.

Key domestic producers:
Jiangsu Yongkang – helium purification and liquefaction.
Sichuan Air Separation – industrial-grade helium liquefaction equipment.
Shanxi Fengsheng – ultra-high-purity helium from coalbed methane.
Jiu Feng Energy – high-purity helium from LNG tail gas.

Properties

Name

Helium

Einecs 275-187-7

CAS Number

7440-59-7

EINECS No.

275-187-7

HS Code

2804290000

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Helium price Spec: China national standards

Recent market notes

Analysis of the Impact of the Helium Export Ban Policy on Market Conditions

Russia Implements Temporary Export Controls on Helium Through 2027 to Secure Domestic Supply Amid Global Market Tightening