HELIUM AS A SOURCE OF POWER.

HELIUM AS A SOURCE OF POWER.

• Helium (He) is a colourless, odourless, non-flammable and extremely unreactive noble gas with atomic number 2. It is the second-lightest element after hydrogen and has an exceptionally low boiling point of about −268.9°C (4.2 K), making it indispensable for ultra-low-temperature applications.

History and Background

• Helium was first detected through spectroscopy of the Sun in 1868, and its name derives from the Greek word Helios, meaning Sun; it was subsequently identified on Earth.
• Terrestrial helium is generated principally over geological time through the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium in rocks; alpha particles emitted during such decay acquire electrons and become helium atoms.
• Because helium is very light, helium reaching the atmosphere can eventually escape into space; therefore, economically recoverable supplies occur mainly in underground geological formations and certain natural-gas reservoirs.
• Commercial helium is consequently recovered largely as a by-product of natural-gas production, rather than being manufactured conventionally.

Principle and Technology

• Helium’s strategic value arises from the combination of chemical inertness, very low density, high thermal conductivity and exceptionally low liquefaction temperature.
• In superconducting systems, extremely low temperatures allow certain materials to conduct current with virtually zero electrical resistance. Liquid helium therefore serves as an important cryogenic coolant for superconducting magnets.
• MRI scanners, particle accelerators, advanced scientific instruments and several research facilities employ superconducting magnets whose cryogenic environment may depend upon liquid helium.
• India is building indigenous capability in this field. The Department of Atomic Energy reported in 2026 that the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) had successfully developed and tested a 2,000-litre-per-day helium refrigerator-cum-liquefier with nearly 90% indigenous content.

Role in Power Generation and Fusion Technology

• Helium has an important relationship with nuclear fusion, although ordinary helium itself is not presently a commercial fuel for electricity generation.
• In the most widely studied fusion reaction, deuterium and tritium nuclei fuse to produce a helium-4 nucleus (alpha particle), a neutron and a large quantity of energy.
• In a tokamak, magnetic fields confine the electrically charged helium nuclei; their energy helps maintain the extremely hot plasma through “alpha heating”, an essential condition for a self-sustaining burning plasma.
• The energetic neutrons escape magnetic confinement and transfer their energy to the reactor blanket as heat. A future fusion power station could use this heat to produce steam, drive a turbine and generator, and thereby generate electricity.
• Helium-3 (³He) is also being studied internationally as a possible fuel in advanced fusion reactions, particularly deuterium–helium-3 fusion; however, commercially viable ³He-based fusion remains a future technological possibility rather than an established power-generation system.

Strategic Applications and Future Prospects

• Helium is increasingly important for semiconductor fabrication, quantum computing, cryogenics, medical imaging, scientific research, aerospace and fusion research.
• Quantum processors based on superconducting technologies require extremely low operating temperatures, increasing the strategic relevance of helium and advanced cryogenic systems.
• Space programmes also require helium for specialised pressurisation, purging and cryogenic applications; however, helium should not be confused with the cryogenic propellants themselves used by launch vehicles.
• India’s growing semiconductor, quantum-technology, healthcare, space and fusion programmes are therefore likely to raise demand for reliable helium supplies.
• ISRO’s continuing lunar programme, including Chandrayaan-4 and the India–Japan Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX mission, is expanding India’s capability for scientific investigation of lunar materials and volatiles. Official ISRO descriptions presently emphasise lunar science and resources such as water; they do not establish commercial lunar helium-3 extraction as an approved Indian programme.

Way Forward

• India should undertake systematic geological exploration for helium-bearing natural gas and geothermal/hydrothermal sources, supported by resource mapping and economically viable extraction technologies.
• Domestic capacity for helium separation, purification, liquefaction, storage and transportation needs to be expanded alongside indigenous cryogenic engineering.
• Helium-recovery systems should be progressively installed in major hospitals, laboratories and research establishments so that boil-off helium can be captured, purified and recycled rather than lost.
• Supply security can be strengthened through diversified long-term import arrangements, domestic production and appropriate strategic inventories for critical medical and scientific facilities.
• Continued investment in IPR, DAE laboratories, semiconductor facilities, quantum technologies and fusion research can transform helium from an import-dependent industrial input into part of India's broader strategic technology and energy-security ecosystem.
• Thus, helium deserves the description “light gold” not because it directly powers the contemporary economy like petroleum, but because access to it increasingly supports the technologies likely to shape the future—advanced medicine, chips, quantum computing, space technology and fusion energy.