Qatar helium shutdown puts chip supply chain on a two-week clock — SK hynix forced to diversify after 30% of global supply removed from the market
Summary
The Qatar helium shutdown has cut ~30% of global helium supply, threatening chip manufacturing as helium is critical for lithography cooling. SK hynix has diversified supplies; TSMC monitors impact; a two-week outage could force months-long supplier revalidation, echoing a 2022 shortage and prompting diversification and potential domestic gas production.