Google and Netflix Buying up Massive Quantities of Helium

PALM BEACH, Florida, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Marketnewsupdates.com News Commentary

Investors often identify themselves with a particular resource. There are lithium investors, cobalt investors, zinc investors, and gold investors. As strange as it may sound, it may now be time to add a new category - helium investors. Helium is experiencing a global surge in demand, and it's poised to grow at a 9% compounded annual growth rate. This is attracting investor interest in this historically ignored resource. Tech giants such as Google and Netflix in particular are drawing a lot of attention towards helium as they integrate the resource into their own key initiatives. As a result, helium exploration companies now find themselves in a sweet spot. Dominant players in the industry include American Helium (TSX-V: AHE) (OTC: AHELF), Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (NYSE: GTE), Yuma Energy Inc. (NYSE: YUMA), Ring Energy Inc. (NYSE: REI), and Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU).

Helium - A Key Ingredient To Tech Innovations

Helium-powered tech projects are a key area where usage of the inert gas is rising. While it's hard to imagine nowadays, some parts of the world are still disconnected from the Internet, and this is problem Google aims to solve. Under its Project Loon initiative, a network of helium-filled balloons will float high into the stratosphere to offer Internet connections to the world's rural populations. This will also provide cellular reception to governments and residents in the wake of a disaster.

Netflix has also joined the growing list of helium consumers. Helium can increase the storage capacity of hard drives by 50% while reducing power consumption by 23%. These hard drives could soon be put to use by Netflix to improve its streaming video quality. HP and Huawei may be the next in line to use these helium-filled hard drives.

Helium's importance in technology is not new either. The gas is already an irreplaceable and critical component of cryogenics in MRI machines. In fact, it's so important to the medical industry that doctors actually requested a ban on helium-filled party balloons a couple years ago to ensure there would be enough for medical applications.

Helium Price Soars On Supply/Demand Gap

Helium explorers have recognized a noticeable gap between demand and supply as industrial applications begin to expand, and are working on increasing the helium supply base.