The healthcare spending accounted for 19.7 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Acccording to the National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA), the United States healthcare spending grew 9.7 percent in 2020, reaching USD 4.1 trillion or USD 12,530 per person. The United States spend a major share of their GDP on healthcare. Geographically, helium finds the largest amount of use in the North American healthcare sector.There is no substitute for helium in cryogenic helium applications. Oxygen and helium are used together for the treatment of acute and chronic forms of respiratory ailments, as the combination reaches the lungs faster than all the others. The gas is usually used to treat lung diseases.It is an essential component in treating emphysema, asthma, and other conditions that affect breathing. Helium is also being used for breathing observation. It can reach a temperature of -269В° C, making liquid helium the best option for cooling the magnets of MRI machines. Helium has a wide range of uses in the healthcare industry.

For each segment, the market sizing and forecasts have been done on the basis of volume (million cubic feet).

By end-user industry, the market is segmented into aerospace and aircraft, electronics and semiconductors, nuclear power, healthcare, welding and metal fabrication, and other end-user industries. By application, the market is segmented into breathing mixes, cryogenics, leak detection, pressurizing and purging, welding, controlled atmosphere, and other applications. By phase, the market is segmented into liquid and gas. Whereas, for large-scale customers, helium is transported through pipelines from the closely located processing plants. Helium in bulk quantities is usually shipped in unvented, pressurized containers pulled by trucks and tractors for small-scale customers. After attaining the required purity, helium is distributed, either in a gas form at normal temperature or in liquid form at a very low temperature. It is mostly trapped in subterranean natural gas bunkers and is commercially extracted through a method known as fractional distillation. Helium is the second-most abundant element in the universe. The development of efficient storage and transport methods for gases is anticipated to provide numerous opportunities over the forecast period.Gas-phase helium dominated the market, and it is also projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.However, on the flip side, the high cost of the extraction process and the stringent government regulations concerning helium use are likely to hinder the growth of the market studied.In the medium term, increasing consumption of helium in the electronics and semiconductor industry and the growing usage in the healthcare industry are likely to drive the market demand.However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the aerospace industry took a severe blow, which resulted in the contraction of the aerospace industry in recent times, which negatively affected the growth prospects of helium in aerospace applications. As with other commodities, we believe there is a good chance that China will look to stockpile helium (build storage similar to the US Bureau of Land Management) and also look to acquire helium resources globally.The helium market size was estimated to be more than 6,500 million cubic feet in 2021, and the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 4% during the forecast period (2022-2027). Finally, there are the industrial gas companies that buy the helium: Linde, Air Liquide and Air Products are the main players. These are generally relatively new companies that have emerged over the last few years to capitalise on rising helium prices. There are now around 20 independent E&P companies globally that either have helium production or are looking to develop helium. There are a handful of mainly US focused midstream companies operating helium purification plants.

For example, on the supply side Qatargas, the US Government (through its strategic storage), Sonatrach in Algeria and Exxon produce the majority of supply and will be joined by Gazprom as it ramps up production in the next few years. There are numerous players involved in the helium market but just a handful of companies control the majority of supply and distribution.

Helium price