China's chipmakers are reportedly in triage mode ahead of expected helium supply cliff

Some chipmakers are apparently considering what processes to halt and what lines to prioritise should they start running low on helium, which may happen as soon as the end of April.

There is no substitute for helium in cryogenic cooling and maintaining ultra-clean conditions for semiconductor manufacturing, because no other gas combines its chemical inertness, extremely low boiling point, and high thermal conductivity.

In 2025, roughly a third of the global supply of helium was produced by Qatar. It halted production in early March after Iranian drone strikes on the Ras Laffan complex.

Chip manufacturers have been consistently tight-lipped about what that means for everything from memory to GPUs.

Tight lips

TSMC, the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, told The Stack it does not "anticipate any significant impact at this time" in terms of helium supply.