by Amara Graps
Pointing Backwards in Time
Twenty years ago this month, a capsule from space with a precious cargo, crashed at 311 kilometers per hour (193 miles per hour) onto the desert floor of the Utah Test and Training Range. The capsule’s parachute had failed to open. This was the NASA Genesis sample return capsule that carried helium and other noble gases from the Sun’s solar wind. These measurements were to provide noble gas baseline numbers for the solar nebula composition, out of which everything in our solar system formed.
Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, but rare on Earth, making up about 0.0005% of Earth’s atmosphere by volume. Most terrestrial helium is created by the natural radioactive decay of heavy radioactive elements in the Earth’s interior from its formation. Out of all the components to make quantum technology function for us humans, this might be the rarest. Not because of any freak of nature, but due to principles of planetary formation. Helium is light, and at the Earth’s position near the Sun, is too energetic to remain in our atmosphere.
Before the Genesis orbiter placed its sample return capsule into an Earth intersection orbit, the orbiter had ‘anchored’ at the Earth’s Lagrangian L1 point for 884 days and collected incoming noble gases onto five disks, which were then stored in a science cannister inside the Genesis sample return capsule. Remarkably, the science cannister experienced only a mild breach from that desert floor impact. Planetary scientists went on to painstakingly analyze those pristine solar wind particles. Those pristine particles provided the best measurement-to-date of solar noble gases, including primordial helium-3.
Amongst the important baseline numbers for the solar nebula composition, the He-3 and other noble gases’ measurements provided hints to where the He-3 was included in the Earth’s formation. The measurements also matched isotopic ratios of those noble gases on young (~100 Ma) Moon rocks.
He-3 Global (Earth) Supplies
Which country provides the most He-3 in the global supply chain of quantum technology components? It’s the USA, where GQI’s data shows 62.4% supplied. The next highest supplier is Germany at 8.9% and then Japan at 5.9%. In GQI’s Hardware Supply Chain Playbook, we see He-3 listed under ‘Cryogenics Systems’ in the quantum technology’s Control Plane.
The silent guardians of quantum stability in the Control Plane are the cryogenics systems, which uphold the low temperatures necessary for quantum coherence to persist. Their function in maintaining the stability and preservation of quantum systems is universal, as evidenced by their continuously high criticality across quantum computing and sensing platforms.
How critical is that He-3 component?
For superconducting quantum computing hardware, He-3 has the highest criticality: 5, which means it is a component or system that is indispensable to the quantum platform, with a very high likelihood of no alternatives to ensure functionality, stability, or performance. For silicon spin computing hardware, He-3 has the next highest criticality: 4, which means that it significantly impacts the effectiveness or efficiency of the quantum platform. There’s a high likelihood that alternatives, if any, might not deliver the same performance. As these quantum systems scale, and the demand for stable, very low-temperature environments grows, helium-3 is placed at a critical juncture of supply and demand. For example, helium-3 is at the center of Interlune’s lunar mining business strategy.
From GQI’s Focus Report: Global Quantum Supply Chain
The strategic importance of helium-3 in the context of the burgeoning quantum technology sector cannot be overstated. Major nations are beginning to see lunar mining as a profitable venture, not only for helium-3 but also for a variety of other minerals vital to technological development and national security. According to reports from Reuters and Bloomberg, there is a “lunar gold rush,” which presents a promising scenario in which lunar mining could help mitigate the impending helium-3 shortage on Earth.
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In conclusion, the importance of helium-3 goes beyond its scientific uses; it is a key component of technology, geopolitics, and upcoming space exploration projects. The availability of enough helium-3 will serve as a gauge for how well the quantum technology ecosystem develops and whether the industry can grow and realize its revolutionary promise.
(*) GQI’s Hardware Supply Chain Playbook operates on a principle of Exploration to follow ‘what-if’ scenarios, with immediate feedback to learn from where and how much one’s required quantum technology components enter the supply chain. GQI’s Focus Report: Global Quantum Supply Chain provides a unique 50-page in-depth study of the components of the quantum technology supply chain and their criticality. If you are interested to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact [email protected].
September 20, 2024
