Privatizing the US national helium reserve. Gonna laugh when in a few years the government of another nation ends up owning it. Helium is dwindling finite resource that key technological infrastructure relies upon.

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]
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    775 months ago

    Gonna laugh when in a few years the government of another nation ends up owning it.

    https://www.npr.org/2022/08/03/1114964240/new-battery-technology-china-vanadium

    A bunch of scrappy engineers made a next generation battery and sold the technology to the US government

    The government never bothered to manufacture anything. Instead they sold everything to China and now they’re already releasing public versions of the batteries. Now the US doesn’t have any knowledge on the batteries or even the factories to build them

    • mushroom [he/him]
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      5 months ago

      [Lead Scientist Gary Yang] soon ran into trouble. He said he couldn’t persuade any U.S. investors to come aboard.

      “I talked to almost all major investment banks; none of them (wanted to) invest in batteries,” Yang said in an interview, adding that the banks wanted a return on their investments faster than the batteries would turn a profit.

      Yang acknowledges that he wanted his U.S. engineers to work in China. But he says it was because he thought Rongke Power could help teach them critical skills.

      He said he wanted to manufacture the entire battery in the U.S., but that the U.S. does not have the supply chain he required. He said China is more advanced when it comes to manufacturing and engineering utility-scale batteries.

      “In this field — manufacturing, engineering — China is ahead of the U.S.,” Yang said. “Many wouldn’t believe [it].”

  • alcoholicorn [comrade/them, doe/deer]
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    5 months ago

    Helium is technically finite, but it’s really a byproduct of natural gas extraction. Most natural gas operations don’t bother to even harvest the helium.

  • barrbaric [he/him]
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    645 months ago

    Holy shit, why would you do this. Neoliberals are the stupidest people on the planet. “Oh well we have to sell it off because it’s not profitable enough!” sure am glad this won’t cause the price of helium to surge resulting in a hike in MRI costs.

  • JuryNullification [he/him]
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    525 months ago

    Get ready for helium in everything for like three years and then it’s all gone. No more floaty balloons ever again.

  • Absolute
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    525 months ago

    This has similar vibes to being an addict and selling your playstation or couch to buy drugs, but at least drugs are fun where is this is just being done to accumulate more capital for a dozen crusty old fucks

  • Hexbear2 [any]
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    455 months ago

    This shit is a crime against the people and in a civilized country, these fuckers would be sent to a gulag for 20 years, then the people would seize the helium back.

    • Egon [they/them]
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      135 months ago

      What gets me is the fact that sell-offs like this are just accepted, but anytime it goes the other way and something is nationalised, it’s a huge overreach because we didn’t vote on it or whatever

    • blobjim [he/him]
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      5 months ago

      The article says it will probably owned by a German company, Messer Group. Germany and helium… 🤔

      During the Nazi era, the Messer-led company benefited considerably from the regime’s arms production, employed forced laborers and was a supplier for the V2 production and the Wehrmacht.[1] In the denazification process, Messer, who had been a member of the since 1933, was classified as a follower in 1948

      oh, right.

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Messer

      Also, can’t wait for this to make people’s medical treatment even more expensive! Exciting times! Thanks Joe Biden!

      • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
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        45 months ago

        Hast du etwas Zeit für mich

        Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich

        Von neunundneunzig Luftballons

        Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont

        Denkst du vielleicht grad an mich

        Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich

        Von neunundneunzig Luftballons

        Und, dass so was von so was kommt

      • Egon [they/them]
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        35 months ago

        Wait till you learn who delivers anti-grafitti spray to the Berlin holocaust memorial

  • gaycomputeruser [she/her]
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    375 months ago

    Can’t wait to listen to all my analytical chemistry friends complain about how helium is too expensive and how they have to design new procedures.

  • motherofmonsters [she/her]
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    275 months ago

    When I looked into this a couple years ago, my understanding was that yes, the supply is finite, but the amount we have in storage is a lot and we slowing mining operations because we have enough on reserve for a while.