Taiwan Chip Industry Urges Helium and Natural Gas Stockpiles & Backs Nuclear Restarts

Key takeaways

• • TSIA formally called for strategic reserves of helium and natural gas and said the Middle East war has indirectly affected the semiconductor supply chain, particularly the supply of helium and hydrogen, which are critical to semiconductor manufacturing processes. The group also backed restarting nuclear plants, provided safety reviews are completed and legal procedures are followed.
  • Taiwan sourced 69% of its helium from Gulf Cooperation Council countries in 2024, according to Barclays, making it acutely exposed to the Strait of Hormuz closure.
  • Helium spot prices have doubled since the crisis began in late February, according to consultant Phil Kornbluth. AirGas, a subsidiary of Air Liquide, announced it would cut helium supply to some customers by 50% and add a surcharge of US$13.50 per hundred cubic feet.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association has called on the government to build a strategic supply of helium and liquefied natural gas and voiced support for the reopening of nuclear power plants, amid concerns that the Middle East conflict could disrupt long-term supplies of critical materials and energy. The call came at TSIA's April 8, 2026 General Assembly, held against the backdrop of a declared two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire where industry observers noted does not resolve underlying supply chain vulnerabilities.

TSIA chairperson and TSMC senior vice president Cliff Hou said: "We also propose to the government that we need to keep diversifying sources of energy and critical materials supplies to prepare for the uncertainties. The association also supports the government's decision to reopen nuclear power plants to have more stable energy supplies if the processes meet legal requirements and if safety is guaranteed. Stable and sufficient energy is extremely vital for semiconductor industry development."

Why helium and natural gas matter to chip production

Helium is a critical input in chipmaking, used to cool wafers during the etching process where material deposited on a silicon disc is scraped away to form transistor structures. There is currently no viable replacement for helium in this process under existing semiconductor manufacturing methods.

The semiconductor industry overtook medical MRI machines as the world's largest consumer of helium in October 2025, with demand surging 14.6% in 2025, according to analytics firm TechCET. Demand is forecast to grow by an average of 6.3% annually in the years ahead.

The Strait of Hormuz closure trapped roughly one-third of the world's commercial helium supply and around 200 specialized helium containers are stranded in the Middle East. These insulated containers can store helium for only 35 to 48 days before the gas warms and escapes through pressure release valves and at roughly $1 million each, there are few spares available elsewhere.

A prolonged closure of the Strait could take about 27% of global helium supply offline, according to Kornbluth, who has spent more than 40 years in the business. He noted that one saving grace is that the helium market had been in oversupply for the prior two years but estimated it would take at least five weeks to restart production following any ceasefire.

TSMC said it does not anticipate a significant impact at this time but is monitoring the situation, while Taiwanese think tank director Arisa Liu estimated the chipmaker should have enough helium for several months. SEMI Taiwan president Terry Tsao noted that large Taiwan fabs have built gas recovery and recycling systems, giving them some near-term resilience. However, Taiwan's GlobalWafers said it held enough helium inventory to sustain operations for multiple years.

South Korea faces even greater exposure than Taiwan as the country sourced approximately 65% of its helium imports from Qatar last year, prompting Seoul to launch a review of more than a dozen semiconductor materials and equipment types with high dependence on Middle Eastern sources. Seoul said chipmakers have sufficient inventories for about four months.

LNG exposure: Taiwan's structural energy vulnerability

Taiwan relied on imports to meet 95% of its energy needs in 2025, including over 99% of its demand for oil and natural gas. Before the war, it received over 38% of its annual natural gas supply and approximately 70% of its crude oil from the Middle East, according to data from Kpler.

The share of natural gas in Taiwan's power generation expanded from around 17% in 2006 to nearly 48% in 2025, accelerated by the DPP government's policies to reduce coal usage and phase out nuclear power that achieved in May 2025. Fossil-fuel generation accounted for more than 80% of electricity output in 2025, while renewables contributed just over 12%.

Taiwan's 11 days of LNG reserves compares with between 14 and 20 days for Japan and South Korea. Although the government plans to increase stockpiles to 14 days, Taiwan's three LNG receiving terminals are operating close to capacity, and expansion projects have been slow to come online.

Asian spot LNG prices surged to their highest levels in nearly three years in early March, as the Middle East conflict raised concerns over potential supply interruptions from Qatar. While the spike reflected market fears rather than immediate confirmed shortages, traders moved quickly to secure alternative cargoes, tightening supply and driving up premiums across Northeast Asia.

Taiwan has assured the public that it holds about 150 days of oil in reserve and has secured sufficient LNG supplies to meet consumption needs through April. However, the expected summer surge in electricity demand could create severe energy shortages if Strait of Hormuz shipments do not resume soon.

Nuclear restarts: active policy, long timeline

In March, President Lai Ching-te moved beyond conditional openness to actively supporting the potential restart of existing reactors, with authorities initiating procedures to bring the Kuosheng and Maanshan plants back online pending regulatory approval and safety inspections. Lai emphasized that any restart would still hinge on strict safety standards, viable waste management solutions, and public consensus.

The Guosheng and Ma-anshan nuclear power plants were selected for the restart plan after Taipower's preliminary evaluations found them fit for reactivation. GE Aerospace and Westinghouse Electric would assist Taipower in conducting safety audits.

Taipower submitted its Maanshan restart plan to the Nuclear Safety Commission on March 27, 2026, but further inspections, reviews, and licensing steps are required, with internal inspections alone expected to take approximately 18 to 24 months. Lai noted that even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032, with daily reserve margins consistently above 10%.

Taiwan's state-owned Chinese Petroleum Company signed an agreement in March 2025 to purchase LNG from Alaska's North Slope borough, measures expected to ease pressure on current energy stockpiles by providing greater delivery flexibility.

Taiwan's chip industry is pushing policymakers to treat helium and natural gas as strategic semiconductor continuity inputs, not just industrial commodities. The three-part policy ask larger reserves, broader sourcing, and a durable electricity strategy anchored partly by nuclear restarts reflecting the immediate stress test of the current conflict and the longer structural fragility of Taiwan's energy position.

An extended crisis could see large energy price spikes or even power rationing, potentially disrupting semiconductor manufacturing and cascading through global supply chains. Over the longer term, this energy shock serves as an urgent reminder that Taiwan should expedite its renewables build-out and promptly commit to restarting its nuclear power plants to alleviate its overreliance on fossil fuel imports.

For semiconductor buyers and supply chain teams, the risk is not a confirmed near-term production halt. The rising probability that a prolonged Middle East disruption translates into tighter helium availability, higher power costs, and accelerating policy pressure in Taiwan to insulate its chip sector from external shocks, all of which have implications for global AI infrastructure build-out that is itself driving surging demand for the chips in question.