China announced a temporary ban on the export of helium, a raw\nmaterial used in chip manufacturing, on Friday, as military conflict in\nthe Middle East reignites. The renewed US-Iran conflict, following the\nend of a ceasefire, is viewed by China as a threat that could trigger\nnew shortages of the gas vital for chip production. Earlier this year,\nUS-Israeli strikes on Iran caused a helium shortage, disrupting American\ncompanies worldwide, including in China. The AI industry is increasingly\ndependent on domestic chips to train and run AI models, and helium is\nessential for thermal management in semiconductor production.<\/p>\n
\"The helium export ban is a tangible effort to protect domestic\nsupply after the Iran conflict flared up again,\" said Cory Combs, head\nof supply chain and critical minerals research at policy research firm\nTrivium China. \"The good news is I am not aware of any country that is\nheavily reliant on helium imports from China. The export ban may have a\nsmall-scale impact, but should not cause major shortages or price\nshocks,\" he stressed.<\/p>\n
China is heavily dependent on helium imports, with Trivium estimating\nthey cover about 85% of its needs. Qatar, which has supplied more than\nhalf of China\u2019s helium imports in recent years and accounts for a third\nof global supply, experienced export disruptions due to the earlier\nIranian attacks, Combs said. The helium ban is the latest example of\nBeijing\u2019s efforts to prevent domestic shortages of critical materials by\nrestricting exports, having implemented similar measures on fuels,\nfertilisers, and sulphuric acid.<\/p>\n
According to Combs, Chinese companies typically export some helium by\nselling excess volumes to other Asian markets. With the Middle East\nconflict reigniting and raising regional supply and price risks, Beijing\nis seeking to prevent domestic firms from exporting for profit and\nexacerbating domestic price spikes. Helium is extracted from natural gas\nfields with exceptionally high helium concentrations and cannot be\nrapidly produced through other industrial processes. In chip\nmanufacturing, the technology is used for wafer cooling, plasma etching,\nchemical vapour deposition, atomic layer deposition, lithography\nsupport, and leak detection.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/china-temporarily-bans-export-of-chip-raw-materials-amid-escalating-us-iran-tensions-1783781494", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }