Helium isn’t just for party balloons; it’s a critical ingredient in a lot of modern technology, from the James Webb Space Telescope to the equipment for laser eye surgery. However, despite being a gas that doesn’t contain any carbon, it has a large carbon footprint. Because of this, scientists and entrepreneurs are on the hunt to find the world’s first “green helium”.
In 1905, a natural gas well was discovered in the small town of Dexter, Kansas. When the gas refused to catch fire, it caught the attention of chemists from the University of Kansas, who brought a few samples back to the lab. It was discovered that the well was emitting nitrogen and helium, which had previously only been found in the Sun.
Today, almost all of the world’s helium supply is still harvested as a “waste product” of natural gas drilling, resulting in a lot of carbon emissions. We know that underground pockets of methane-free helium exist, but they are incredibly rare. A 2023 study from Oxford was able to shed light on how they form, giving us a better understanding of how to find them.
Helium is produced as a natural byproduct of radioactive elements beneath the Earth’s crust, and the resulting helium atoms float up through the crust. Some of these atoms reach a rock layer that doesn’t let them pass, and nitrogen gathers in high concentrations around them, creating a pocket of helium and nitrogen without the greenhouse gas.
Startups are now scouring North America and Africa for the world’s first “green helium”, with one of the most promising spots being the Rukwa Basin in Tanzania. While these expeditions are still in the early stages, it’s safe to say that wherever we find the first big pocket of green helium, we can use some of it to fill a few party balloons.