Helium Scarcity and Industrial Leak Detection
How rising costs and supply disruptions are forcing manufacturers to rethink their tracer gas strategy—and the alternatives that are proven to work.
The global helium supply has rarely looked as fragile as it does today. Ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East has highlighted how quickly production or transit can be disrupted, driving significant price increases. Prices have risen 35–50% in recent months and supply uncertainty shows no signs of stabilizing.
Manufacturers across automotive and electric mobility, HVAC/R, and other industrial sectors are directly affected.
Why Helium Is So Critical to Industrial Leak Detection
Helium's inert nature and extremely low concentration in ambient air make it an ideal tracer gas for high-sensitivity leak detection in industrial applications. These properties enable manufacturers to detect very small leaks quickly and reliably across a wide range of applications.
As a result, helium has become one of the most widely used tracer gases for industrial leak detection. This widespread reliance is now exposing manufacturers to significant supply risk. When supply is constrained or costs rise sharply, manufacturers face a difficult choice: absorb the cost increase, reduce test coverage, or find a qualified alternative quickly.
INFICON’s Answer: A Portfolio Built for Resilience, Not Dependency
As manufacturers evaluate how to reduce exposure to helium shortages, the key question becomes which alternative tracer gas strategy best fits their leak testing requirements. Not every leak test requires the same sensitivity, cycle time, or tracer gas strategy.
INFICON helps manufacturers select the most effective solution for each application, whether that means hydrogen, air/argon, or a flexible helium-hydrogen approach.
- Flexible Transition: Helium and Hydrogen Combined
For manufacturers that need to maintain helium capability while reducing dependence on supply-constrained gas, the LDS3000 leak detector provides tracer-gas flexibility in a single instrument. It operates with both helium and hydrogen, enabling a controlled transition. Its standard EcoBoost technology cuts helium consumption by up to 90%, reducing running costs and extending supply for operations that cannot switch tracer gases. - Proven Alternative: Forming Gas
Forming gas—a non-flammable mixture of 5% hydrogen and 95% nitrogen—is available in most countries as a standard shielding gas for welding. It offers sensitivity comparable to helium sniffing for the majority of industrial leak detection applications at a lower cost and without the supply chain vulnerability that helium now carries. Sensistor® Sentrac® is a cost-effective leak detection solution in a variety of industries, both on the production and repair lines. The XL3000flex is an extremely precise, adaptable, high speed sniffer leak detector for the refrigeration, air conditioning, and automotive industries. - Eliminate Tracer Gas Dependency: Air and Argon
For manufacturers seeking to remove tracer gas from their process entirely, INFICON has introduced LDS Arnova, the world’s first industrial vacuum leak detection system capable of using either ambient air or argon as the test gas. It removes helium and forming gas from the supply chain equation.
Our application note explains how to configure the system for forming gas testing and outlines key implementation considerations.
